Starlight
by SniperCT
Summary: Nearly a year after answering the siren call, Elsa grows closer to the Northuldra, and Honeymaren in particular. But life is rarely simple and when people start mysteriously falling into an eternal sleep and the sun refuses to rise, they must find a way to save Arendelle and the Enchanted Forest from being forever covered by a blanket of stars. Follow up to Beneath a Starlit Sky
1. A Royal Invitation

The trail was still fresh, the elk having passed this way only moments before. The Hunter crouched, eyes closed, feeling the direction of the breeze and listening for the sound of movement through the undergrowth.

There.

She smiled, picking up her bow and carefully creeping east, staying downwind of the elk and trying to move as silently as possible so as not to spook him. He'd been a beautiful buck, with an impressive rack of antlers. His hide and meat would keep her family fed and she could even sell some down in the city to purchase supplies that she couldn't easily produce herself.

She didn't much like going down there, though she'd attended both the coronation of Queen Elsa and Queen Anna. The latter went off without any problems, much to her relief, but she still got nervous when winter came.

Slowly, slowly she got into position, drawing an arrow and knocking her bow. The elk's head snapped up and they stared at each other for a long moment. Then the elk bolted and the hunter punched her fist into the tree.

Slowly, as slowly as she'd tried to hunt her prey, she slid down against a log, leaned back and closed her eyes.

?

Anna _hated_ lutefisk. She hated the taste and the smell and most of all she hated the _texture_. It wasn't so bad depending on the fish, but Arendelle overwhelmingly used cod which was _naturally_ the worst smelling option.

There were eight booths set up in the town square, each vying for the best prepared dish. And, as Queen, it was Anna's job to determine the winner when the contest was held in three days time. If she was lucky, one of the booths would prepare it with haddock and that person would be the automatic winner.

She managed to avoid wrinkling her nose in front of anyone, even as she snuck off and darted into the chocolate shop, which was currently upwind of the square.

She sagged against the wall, rubbing her nose, certain that the scent of lutefisk would linger for at least the next six months.

"If I didn't know better," Olaf said, almost materializing at her side. "I'd say you don't like lutefisk."

"Shh!" She put her hand over his mouth, "Shh! Look, it's a thing, okay, people love it, I _have_ to be impartial and stuff."

"I understand," he said. He placed one of his hands over Anna's, staring in seriousness, and speaking like a grizzled war veteran, "I have the same problem with fruitcake."

Anna wasn't too fond of fruitcake, but at least it wasn't lutefisk. She smiled at him, "Thank you, Olaf. I'm glad you understand. But I'm still going to have to taste each entry so I can pick a winner. I don't know how Elsa did it and I swear to _God_ she abdicated _just_ to get out of this."

"I thought she needed to be free and live in the Enchanted Forest so she could be more herself and run naked in the breeze."

"That too." Anna pushed off from the wall and squeezed her nose once more, "Wait, what was that last thing again?"

"Run -"

The door burst open and Kristoff ran into the shop. He closed the door behind him. "Anna! There you are. Don't you just _love_ this festival?"

He held up a little cod-shaped paper hat, and then daintily put it on his head. "How do I look?"

Anna ran her hand down her face. "You look handsome, dear."

Olaf leaned over and in a stage whisper he said, "I think Kristoff loves lutefisk."

He did, and he'd once cooked her some as an act of devotion for her. Considering it took over a week to prepare while one suffered through the smell of it, she supposed that _was_ an act of devotion. And he'd at least had the decency to use haddock.

Did nothing to help the texture, but the smell and taste was better.

"Looking for a treat in particular?"

"Uh…" Anna looked at the chocolates thoughtfully. "I was thinking of sending a couple pieces to Elsa via Galemail as a bribe to get her to come join us for the festival."

"That's a great idea!" Kristoff came over and wrapped an arm around her. Anna almost gagged at the smell of lutefisk on his breath and quickly turned away as though to inspect the chocolate more closely.

"Yeah! I thought so too."

He still had his arm around her, and his breath still smelled like lutefisk."You should check out the gaming area this year. They really outdid themselves with games and contests. That's where I won my hat!"

"It suits you." She carefully extricated herself from her fiance, wanting to avoid hurting his feelings but there was absolutely _no_ way she was going to let him kiss her like this. "Okay."

Anna picked out two pieces of chocolate. "Lets see, I know Elsa will go gaga for these."

"Hey, we should invite Ryder and Honeymaren, too!" Kristoff picked out a couple more pieces of chocolate and held them out. "Only fair to give them their own invitations too, right?"

Lutefisk aside, Anna really did love that man. But he still wasn't going to get a kiss no matter how much he earned it. "That's a great idea! We haven't seen either of them in awhile, have we, and I know you like having someone around to talk reindeer with and Elsa and Honeymaren seem like really good friends now."

"Yeah," Kristoff said, a fond smile on his face. "Ryder is amazing."

Anna squinted, then turned to the shopkeep. "Anyway. I'll take these please? Can you put these two in a little baggie separate from the other two? Elsa will steal them if I send them to her first."

Once she secured the two bags of chocolate and overpaid the man, Anna led Kristoff and Olaf out of the chocolate shop. Most importantly, she stayed upwind of the cooking booths. Now she just had to figure out how to get word to Gale that they wanted to send a letter to Elsa. Usually Gale just kind of showed up.

Anna felt a little bad using the spirit like that, but it was friendly and liked Olaf, and Elsa had assured her six different times that it didn't mind and actually enjoyed passing notes back and forth.

Despite that reassurance, Anna had been thinking of ways to have reliable delivery and postal service between the Enchanted Forest and Arendelle, and for that matter the entire kingdom could benefit from the idea. She was thinking of a relay of horse and reindeer mounted mailpeople…

Alternately, she'd read about work in other countries to set up a system across wires to deliver messages and there was already a standard in development. The trick was running the lines in a way that wouldn't damage Arendelle's natural beauty and resources _or_ tick off the spirits.

"Anna?"

"She's got her thinky face on again," Olaf said.

"Oh, sorry." Anna smiled sheepishly. "Just thinking about how we can keep in contact with Elsa without exploiting a spirit's generosity. A system that benefits the whole kingdom would be best. Obviously. I think we could stand to improve the postal system at least."

Kristoff got a goofy grin on his face. "It's not work time, remember? Write it down and worry about it later."

"Right." She loved Elsa but the last thing she wanted was to pick up her work habits; Elsa had let herself be consumed by work a lot of the time. It was why game night was so important to Anna. She pulled out a little notepad and scribbled down her ideas. While she was at it, she tore out two blank pages to write the invites to the festival. When she was done, she flipped it closed and stuck it back in her pocket. "Done!"

Ducking Kristoff's attempt to put his arm around her and his lutefisk contaminated mouth too close to her own, she looked around for a wind spirit. "Hey Olaf do you have a way to summon Gale?"

"Yeah!" Olaf bounced over, put his sticks in front of his mouth and bellowed, "HEY GALE WHERE ARE YOU!"

"That's not gonna work!" Kristoff shook his head.

A breeze kicked up around Olaf suddenly, leaves whirling around him excitedly. They spun around Kristoff, nearly taking his little hat with them, before fluttering in front of Anna. Anna was glad to see the spirit, despite the unmistakable odor of lutefisk that it had picked up.

"I really appreciate this, Gale." Anna smiled, patting one of the leaves. "I have a couple of letters here with a little present for Elsa and the others. Think you can bring them to her?"

She barely had a chance to get her letters into the chocolate baggies before the spirit whisked them away.

?

There were days that Elsa felt as though she were skipping out on responsibility. It wasn't true, of course; she had a lot of responsibility when it came to the elemental spirits and the wilds, and if she was honest with herself she was still figuring it all out. Ahtohallan, for all the answers it might have, wasn't really a _home_. The memory of one, perhaps, but not a home. Not like the Forest, or Arendelle. Or Anna.

But there were days where she didn't have much to do but wander around the Forest, and on most days like that, she preferred to learn from the Northuldra. They did allow her to live with them and fifth spirit or no, Elsa would leave if they asked her to. It was hard to believe they were, in fact, _her_ people too. Hers and Anna's.

So she put in her best effort, even if that best effort meant _skinning a squirrel_. Elsa pursed her lips, looking down at the blood on her hands and the skinning knife. Anna could _never_ know. _Olaf_ could never know.

She looked up at her tutor, a woman named Haladreth about fifteen years her senior with rich brown skin, long dark hair and pretty, olive-colored eyes. "I never stopped to think about how much work went into feeding people before. I mean, I helped bake on occasion, and I'd visit farms and the herders. I once even helped birth a cow! But this is … different."

As Queen, Elsa had needed to know all the basics as to how Arendelle was run. From where food came from to optimal farming techniques to using song to call in the herds, her people had looked to her for guidance and advice. In that respect, being the fifth spirit wasn't much different from being the Queen. And Elsa was putting as much effort into her new role as she had her old one. She wanted to know _everything_ and it wasn't even _just_ a spirity thing; Elsa had always loved learning and she was loving _what_ she was learning.

Applying it first hand was just … quite a bit different from second hand reading and watching others do it.

"I heard you helped with the reindeer this past spring." Haladreth said, reaching over and matter-of-factly correcting Elsa's technique.

"Well, I guess I did, but Ryder and Honeymaren did most of the work." Elsa finished with her squirrel, and Haladreth took it to inspect her work.

"Not bad, but you don't have to be so gentle with it." The woman hung the squirrel up with several more, "I think that's enough of this for today. My wife and I can handle the rest." She fingered a hole in her sleeve. "Next time, I think we need to work on your bow skills a little more."

"Thanks. And, uhm. Sorry." Wincing, Elsa got up, making her way down to the stream to clean up. She really liked Haladreth. Straightforward and a little blunt, but Elsa appreciated that. She was also the first person outside of Maren and Ryder to view her as just another person. The rest of the Northuldra had gotten over the whole spirit thing pretty quickly after that.

At least she hoped they did. Elsa just wanted to be one of her mother's people, as much as she wanted to explore the elemental spirits and the base of her power. She sat back on her haunches, watching the blood wash away from her hands.

The first time she'd tried to skin anything she'd vomited in a spectacularly embarrassing fashion. But Elsa's stomach had gotten stronger as she learned things a Queen never had to worry about and what's more, Elsa had found a growing confidence in her ability to take care of herself.

It was a feeling she liked. Drying her hands, she stood up and smiled at herself, then lifted up the now clean knife. It wasn't a fancy knife, but it was her knife; a gift from Honeymaren. Elsa still hadn't quite figured out a way to thank her, but she supposed helping with the baby reindeer had been a good start.

Sensing a presence behind her, Elsa turned slowly to see Ryder standing there. That was something new that she'd started noticing in recent weeks. An ability to sense when something alive was nearby. Usually people, but sometimes animals. It was almost like she could see the souls within them, like a ghostly white cloud; if she squinted and looked sideways and to the left. Even people had spirits, right?

Ryder grinned at her, one of his hands rubbing the back of his head. "Hey, uh, Elsa. All done with Haladreth?"

"She's a good teacher. I think we'll do some more bow shooting stuff next time."

"Oh. She's a _lot_ stricter when it comes to bow and spear work. Honeymaren _still_ complains about bruises she got when she was ten."

"I'm not afraid of bruises." Elsa flicked the knife dry and then sheated it in her boot in a way that she was sure would have made Kristoff proud.

"Speaking of, I was wondering you might want to…" Ryder stumbled over his words, gave up, then gestured vaguely to the south. "Reindeer. Things."

She raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "I'm free. Is something wrong, or?"

"Nothings wrong! I just…" He shrugged back as Elsa fell into step next to him. "Wanted some help. And to…" He waved his hands, searching for words. "Ask you some questions?"

Oh.

Elsa's spine went rigid and she looked at Ryder out of the corner of her eyes. He looked nervous, his face a little flushed and his gaze was down and pointed at the ground.

Oh _no_.

How many awkward suitors had she'd had to reject over the past few years? Elsa had lost count but it almost always went the same and she _always_ felt awful about it. But she hadn't at all thought she was ready for it and none of them had really been her type.

At all. "Ryder, I'm really flattered, and you're a nice man who's probably very handsome but-"

"What?" His head snapped up and he stared at her. Realization and horror dawned in his eyes. "No, no no I don't mean, I mean you're nice and everything but I don't like you like that! I just… I just wanted to know what you thought about my sister." He blinked. "You think I'm handsome?"

"Oh thank god. I mean, I'm sure you're handsome, but I don't really look at you like that." Elsa put her hand over her chest. She was just so _relieved_. It was probably inevitable that someone here might express … interest … but Ryder wasn't on the list. Not that she had a list. Or anything.

"I'm handsome." Ryder puffed out his chest.

Elsa laughed softly and covered her face. "_Is_ there someone you're interested in? I'm probably not the best at that kind of advice but I'll bet Kristoff might have some suggestions."

"Yeah, but that can wait."

Next time she wrote or saw her family, Elsa would bring it up with Kristoff. At the very least, she should learn how to approach relationships herself; someone might actually come to her for advice and she didn't want to lead them astray. "If you're sure."

"So…?"

"So what?"

"What do you think of my sister?"

Honeymaren was kind of a wonderful person, inquisitive, open and accepting, and really brave. Elsa wet her lips, her shoulders lifting in a little shrug. "I like her fine."

"Like who fine?" Honeymaren stepped out from behind a copse of trees, leaning on her spear. Both of her eyebrows were raised and a teasing smile played across her lips.

A snow flurry developed in Elsa's stomach, like always. Which she ignored.

Like always.

"Oh nothing!" Ryder grinned, bounding over to her, "We were on our way to inspect the herd, want to join us?"

"I was headed that way already," She assured him, her eyes darting over to Elsa. "How'd lessons go with Haladreth?"

"Not bad, she said." Elsa started walking again, the siblings on either side of her.

Maren nodded seriously. "High praise indeed."

Ryder leaned his head back, until it was out of view of Elsa's eyes and she couldn't tell what he was doing besides making faces at his sister. Maren did the same. Elsa rolled her eyes, fighting a grin, and failing. It was _exactly_ something she and Anna would do.

Then Maren smacked her brother's arm from behind Elsa and this time Elsa couldn't stop herself from giggling. "Very mature, both of you."

"I _am_ the older one," Maren commented.

"By ten minutes."

"Still counts!"

"Clearly," Elsa said, hesitating for just a moment before putting her arms around both of them. It was so _nice_ to feel comfortable enough around people besides Anna and Kristoff. "My _true_ role is to maintain harmony between you."

Honeymaren immediately calmed down, though Ryder had a knowing smile on his face. "Seems kind of silly. Bridge between worlds reduced to mediating sibling squabbles."

"Then I won't make a habit of it."

A sudden breeze blew in overhead and Elsa's attention was drawn to a pair of paper baggies spinning over head. "What's this? Gale?"

The baggies bobbed and weaved, and then one dropped into Elsa's hands, and the other into Maren's.

Gale blew around them playfully and Elsa flicked her wrist, adding snow and ice to the leaves. Turning her attention to the delivery, she could see her name in Anna's handwriting, and didn't even need to open it to smell the chocolate. She tore it open, salivating, and popped the first one into her mouth with a low, sultry moan.

Maren stared at her, then seemed to shake herself out of it, opening her own package with a little more dignity. She tossed Ryder a piece of chocolate as she read the message from Anna. "Hey! She's inviting us to the Lutefisk Festival."

Slowly, Elsa put the second chocolate back and unfolded her own message. "Oh no…"

"I love Lutefisk!" Ryder spoke around his chocolate, all the while pumping his fist in the air.

Elsa exchanged a look with Maren, as she realized she'd been bribed with chocolate. And the worst part was, it was going to _work_. "You know, the real reason I stepped down as Queen was so that I could get out of this festival."

"You already ate one piece," Maren pointed out, helpfully.

"I know." Elsa sighed dramatically, "Anna knows just how to rope me in."

"So, are you going to eat that second piece?" Honeymaren asked.

"You've got your own, this is mine." Picking it back out of the baggy, Elsa maintained eye contact while she took a slow, savory bite.

Ryder reached out and smugly closed his sister's jaw with his finger.


	2. Fun and Games

There were only really two ways to reach Arendelle from the Enchanted Forest. The first was the long way, via the roads and paths. This could take days when hauling a cart, and was still a pretty long trip on horseback.

The second was to ride down the fjord on the Nokk, a much more direct route and made all the more faster by magic. It was Elsa's preferred means of traveling and she'd discovered the Nokk enjoyed the trip as well, even if she couldn't quite explain how it worked, even to herself.

What she hadn't been sure about was if the Nokk would be okay with Elsa taking _passengers_.

And yet after a little coaxing on both sides, Elsa rode with Honeymaren's warm body at her back and Ryder clinging to his sister like his life depended on it. At first, Maren wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist, but she quickly loosened her grip to look around in wonder as they rode over the water. Her hands now rested lightly on her hips.

Elsa's heart pounded in her chest, and she felt so alive and free that she wanted to share that feeling with the whole world.

"How much longer?" Ryder called out.

"We're almost there!"

"Already?" Maren asked, sounding both surprised and disappointed.

"Enjoying the ride?" Elsa twisted around to grin at her.

Maren grinned back. "Yes!"

"Hold on!" Elsa turned back around, throwing her left hand out to create a ramp of ice that coiled and twisted around. She steered the Nokk towards it, laughing at the sound Maren made when she realized what Elsa was doing.

"Are you crazy?!" Maren once again wrapped her arms around Elsa's stomach, burying her face into her back as the Nokk rode up the ramp. The ramp blurred by, twisting and rolling until the fjord was overhead, the ocean becoming the sky. Elsa gripped the Nokk tightly with her thighs as she held her arms wide. Maren held on tighter, but peeked over her shoulder.

Ryder gasped behind her, "The ocean is the sky! The ocean is the sky!"

They followed the path of the ramp until they were right side up again and galloping smoothly across the water, Arednelle castle now in sight.

Maren lifted her head from Elsa's back and got a mouthful of her hair. She sputtered, "That was crazy!"

"But fun?" Elsa asked, hopefully.

"Yes," Maren laughed.

"Want me to do it again?"

Maren didn't hesitate and immediately accepted the challenge. "Do it!"

This time, Elsa created a ramp right in front of them. It curved upward, looping several times before it ended inside the Castle walls. Elsa leaned forward, Maren's arms a death grip around her waist. They hit the ramp at full speed, moving faster and faster through each loop until it felt like they were _flying_. Behind her, the twins let out whoops of joy.

Once upon a time, Elsa had been afraid to play with her powers. Even after she'd accepted them, she hadn't truly explored her limits. She hadn't truly let herself have _fun_. There was a difference between making toys for children and doing something just for herself; or to show off for someone.

As they rushed towards the last loop, the largest and most dangerous looking that twisted like a pretzel, she asked Honeymaren. "Do you trust me?"

"I … yes?"

"Then let go of me." Ice formed up all of their legs, securing them to the Nokk. Elsa felt Maren let go, and together they held their arms out like wings as the Nokk sailed through the corkscrewing ramp and then down into the castle grounds.

Anna was waiting for them, mouth hanging open as Elsa brought the Nokk over to her. Elsa was almost giddy, saying, "Careful, or you'll be swallowing a fly."

Kristoff looked thoughtful. "Isn't there some kind of statistic about how many bugs we eat?"

"Flyboy Fred in Roostershire eats flies for breakfast," Olaf sagely said. "He's an outlier and shouldn't be counted."

"I think _I_ swallowed a few," Ryder complained, sliding off the Nokk and onto unsteady legs.

Elsa slipped down as well and caught Maren when she all but fell off. "Easy."

"I think I might have been holding on a little too tight." Maren brushed herself off and then smoothed her hands out in the air. "You're just all kinds of exciting, aren't you."

"It's kind of a thing with us, yes." Anna enveloped Elsa in a hug. "It's so good to see you!"

Laughter burst out of Elsa, and she hugged Anna close, reveling in the familiar comfort. "You saw me just last week!"

"Doesn't matter, it's _always_ good to see you." Anna pulled her head back, smiling brightly at Elsa. If Elsa's heart hadn't already been melted years ago, it would have done so just then.

She hugged Anna again, joyfully, then let her go. Her expression softened "You too … but using _chocolate_ to lure me to the _Lutefisk_ Festival was a dirty, dirty trick."

"Yeah, but it worked." Anna gleefully took Elsa's hand, "Come on, there's this new game that I think you'll enjoy."

Elsa barely had time to grab for Maren's hand before she was being dragged out of the castle. She caught glimpses of Ryder and Kristoff following, though they were hunched over in conversation with each other and Elsa could only guess that the subject was _probably_ reindeer.

Anna took a circuitous route through the town, adjusting her path when the wind shifted. Elsa realized she was trying to keep them upwind of the Lutefisk booths. "Sis?"

"Yeah?"

"You're the best."

"I am? I am!" Anna replied, totally confused.

"Are we going to get more of that chocolate?" Honeymaren asked, somehow managing to keep up with Anna's relentless pace. It probably helped that Elsa refused to relinquish her hand.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Elsa teased, "I would rather like more of that bribe."

Anna stuck her tongue out at them, just as she brought them to a halt. The games had all been set up overlooking the castle and the fjord. It was a beautiful view, with jolly music being played by live musicians. Booths and carts and tents were formed in haphazard shapes, colorful banners streaming from most of them.

The games were noisy, with a cacophony of metal and rubber clanging and a constant ping-ping-ping of metal pellets against assorted targets. Wood smashed against wood and dozens of people laughed and talked and clapped their hands in time to the music.

Elsa pulled Anna aside, "Can we make this quick? This is a little overwhelming for me." She glanced worriedly at Honeymaren and Ryder, but they looked like they were enjoying themselves. "Not too quick, I suppose."

"Oh!" Anna squeezed her arm, "I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking. This _is_ kinda loud. Do you think it'll bother our friends too?"

"I don't know. The Forest is a lot quieter than this."

"Okay, lets play a couple of games then I'll take you guys to the chocolate shop. Deal?"

"Okay." Elsa touched her forehead to Anna's, "I can last that long. Deal."

Anna took Elsa's hand and dragged her over to game booth. "Okay! Good. So the object of this one is to get all the little balls into the cups. But the cups have unusually shaped edges so it's really easy to bounce them out."

"Sounds like a challenge," Maren said. "What happens if we get them all in?"

A large man stepped out from behind the booth and wriggled his fingers at them. "Hoo hoo! Welcome to Oaken's Cod Catch! We have several games and this one is my very favorite. If you get _all_ the balls in, you win a prize!" He pointed at a row of stuffed animals and toys of varying kinds.

Oaken seemed to have his hand in everything, Elsa thought, and she wasn't surprised to see him doing a game booth. She knew she might maybe regret the question, but she had to ask. "Not doing the cooking contest this year?"

"Oh, no no no." He folded his arms, "I was told in no uncertain terms if I was to participate this year I would be sleeping in the Sauna."

Oaken's husband was a man after Elsa's heart. She grinned. "That doesn't sound particularly pleasant."

A clanking noise drew her attention to another booth, where Olaf, Kristoff and Ryder were engaged in a game involving streams of water and blowing up balloons. Sven watched with rapt interest and Elsa had to fight the urge to give Olaf a little cheating help.

Focusing on them helped, though, and Oaken's voice was always kind of calming. She was able to shut out some of the noise.

Honeymaren picked up the balls and bounced them in her hand as she studied the cups, and Elsa studied her in turn. Her curved jaw was confidently set and her eyes looked determined as she plotted out how she'd approach the game.

Quickly but steadily, Maren tossed each one and each one bounced once before landing in the cup she was aiming for.

"Very good, very good!" Oaken clapped his hands together excitedly. "The lady has won the grand prize! Which one would you like?"

"It was nothing," she said, and took a close look at the stuffed toys. It didn't take her long before she selected one, and stuffed it in her pouch before Elsa could see it.

"Something for the kids back home?" Anna asked.

"Something like that." Maren came up to the sisters, placing her hand on Elsa's lower back to guide her towards where the boys were playing.

Suddenly, the only thing Elsa could focus on was that single point of contact as warmth slowly spread through her body.

"Elsa, look what I won!" Olaf's voice snapped her out of it, and she looked down at the snowman.

"Let me see, Olaf."

He proudly held up a carved wooden figurine depicting a crab and some starfish in a tropical wave pool. Of course he'd pick that one.

She knelt, so she could pull him into her arms. "It's beautiful, Olaf. I'm proud of you."

"I guess I just really know water."

"It was mostly because Ryder and Kristoff got into it," 'Sven' said

"Hey!" Kristoff glowered.

"If you'd focused on the game you'd have won."

"Traitor."

Elsa stood, patting Olaf on the head before stepping away from the game booth to get away from the noise. The others were dragged over to another game by Anna, which Elsa didn't really mind.

Elsa felt Maren lean close, her breath warm and lips almost brushing her ear when she whispered, "Are you okay?"

"Feeling a little overwhelmed," she admitted, voice faint.

"Why don't you grab Anna and sneak off, I can keep an eye on the boys."

"I wanted to show you around." Elsa turned towards Maren, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"Plenty of time for that later," Maren said.

"Okay. I promise I'll show you around." Elsa gave Maren's hand another squeeze, then let go and snuck over to Anna. Without giving Anna much say in the matter, she grabbed her hand and started to drag her off.

Anna laughed, "Whoa, I'm pretty sure it's illegal to abscond with the Queen!"

"Sorry, but I need to get away from the noise and wanted to spend a little time with you." They were far enough away from the games that the only sounds were the relatively normal ones of lazy city life.

It was a much calmer atmosphere even with the festival and more Elsa's speed.

"Well," Anna smiled. "In that case I think we can allow it."

"Please tell me you're not going to use the royal 'we' speech."

Anna put on a serious, snooty face. "We are considering it."

"I can't allow that," Elsa replied, suddenly attacking Anna's sides with her fingers. The faux seriousness melted away into peels of laughter as she tried to escape her sister's tickle attack. She was led on a merry chase through the streets as Anna used every shortcut she knew to try to get away from Elsa.

But Elsa knew all the same shortcuts and she managed to intercept Anna every time. Laughing, they darted around citizens and skipped past groups of children. Two of the little children started chasing them both.

"Hey Elsa, truce?" Anna skidded to a stop to find the kids had conscripted more of their peers.

Elsa spied another group of children coming up behind them and nodded. "Truce."

Then she created an ice slick and pushed Anna down it. Anna shrieked and flailed before she realized Elsa was holding her steady as they slid around the street. "Left! Left! No, right! There! A convenient escape through the chocolate shop!"

Just before Elsa pulled Anna inside, she changed her ice slick so it continued down towards the Lutefisk Booths. Not only would it fool their would be pursuers, but the smell should dissuade them as well.

Not that she wasn't having fun, but there were now more important concerns. Elsa closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of chocolate and sweets. "Oh I missed you."

"I missed you too," Anna replied.

"I mean the chocolate."

"Ha. Ha."

Elsa accepted the elbow to the side with a good natured chuckle. "I believe you owe me six boxes of chocolate."

"_Six_?!"

"Well, one box is for Honeymaren. The rest are for me."

Anna tilted her head, "A whole box for Honeymaren, huh? Interesting."

"I should bring a few pieces for Haladreth, too," Elsa murmured, leaning over to peer at some chocolate covered apples. "I've been learning how to help out. I spent all day yesterday skinning squirrels and rabbits."

"Yuck."

"That's what I said at first," Elsa admitted, eyes twinkling as she looked at her sister. "But you know me, I want to do everything right."

Anna hugged Elsa from behind. "Just don't over do it, okay?"

"I don't, I promise." Elsa leaned back against Anna, happy at how easily they fell back into their comfort with each other. It actually felt easier now than it had been before Elsa had moved away.

Like Elsa being more comfortable in her skin made it all easier. And seeing Anna and the way she was shining as Queen only reinforced that she'd made the right choice.

"Okay, lets build your boxes, and I'll have them delivered to the castle so you can pick them up before you leave." Anna chewed on her lip. "When are you leaving, anyway?"

"After the festival. I can't miss watching you do the taste testing."

Anna squinted. "I knew it."

Placing an innocent hand on her chest, Elsa replied. "Knew what?"

"You abdicated to get out of Festival duties."

"I will neither confirm nor deny such an accusation."

?

Elsa usually did stay the night when she came down for game night, much to Anna's relief, but she'd never stayed longer than two nights before. But the festival would last another three days, which was kind of exciting. And she had two days before the tasting contest to figure out a way to stick _Elsa_ with that particular duty.

She loved her sister, but when it came to Lutefisk, it was _war_. And she was going to make sure she won that war.

The sun was starting to sink in the western sky and Anna knew the festivities wouldn't be wrapping up for another few hours at least. But she was happy to take a break.

There was a spot on one of the walls near the docks that wasn't too difficult to climb up to, and she perched there, feet dangling over the edge. Across the water rang a bell signaling a ship coming into port, and from the city she could hear laughter and music muffled by distance, stone and wood.

Anna closed her eyes and lost herself in the sounds of her home, rocking a little side to side as she wasn't quite able to contain her energy. She'd have to dance later; that would really get it out of her system.

"Your Majesty?"

She opened her eyes and looked down to see Honeymaren. "Hey! And call me Anna, _please_."

"Sorry." Honeymaren rubbed her arm. "Still getting used to things down here. There are a lot of differences."

"I like to think of it like we have a lot of similarities and the things that make us different are worth celebrating."

Honeymaren jumped onto a ledge then scrambled the rest of the way up the wall so she could sit next to Anna. "Elsa said something like that."

"That makes it double true," Anna assured her. She smiled at the woman, and thought about Elsa letting her have an _entire box of chocolate._ Anna had to _fight_ her for chocolate sometimes. Honeymaren must have made quite an impression, and considering that showy stunt Elsa had done on the way into the castle…

"Are all festivals like this?" Honeymaren pointed out towards the city, as lantern-lighters lit the lamps.

"Pretty much. Games, food, dancing and music. All the good things that make life so good." Anna wrinkled her nose. "This one is just _smellier_ than others."

"Not too much different from what my people do. The songs are different, and so are the stories we tell and the games we play and the food we serve, but that's just details." Maren rested her elbows on her knees as she leaned forward to stare at the lanterns. "Games, food, dancing and song. Being with your family and your friends, and the people you love. A little less noisy though."

"You should come to game night next time," Anna suggested.

"I think I'd like that. Elsa always seems so happy and peaceful when she comes home the next day."

Home. Anna felt that word like an unexpected dagger between the ribs. She knew that Honeymaren didn't mean anything by it and she knew that the Forest _was_ Elsa's home.

But it was an unwelcome reminder of how much things had changed. Anna exhaled, reminding herself that change didn't have to be a bad thing and often wasn't. It just didn't make it hurt any less. She patted Honeymaren's knee. "I can't promise I'll go easy on you."

"I wouldn't want you to."

"Good." Anna watched a seagull catch an updraft, "Can I ask you something, Honeymaren?"

"Call me Maren."

That would at least be less awkward than calling her 'honey,' Anna thought. "I know that Elsa can take care of herself. I mean that's kind of her thing, you know? But she's always been the kind of person to take care of everyone else at the _expense_ of herself. She's my sister and I … Can you watch out for her?"

"Yes, I can, and I will." Maren smiled at her, a calm steady presence that reminded Anna in some ways of Elsa. "You know, she's lucky to have a sister like you."

"She totally is," Anna giggled. She coughed and cleared her throat. "I think she's inside the castle. The lanterns tonight are going to be extra pretty because of the festival and you should try to talk Elsa into walking around with you."

In the shadows cast by the castle, Anna couldn't quite tell, but she thought Maren was blushing. "What about you?"

"_Someone_ has to find my fiancé, your brother, and my snow-son and keep them out of trouble."

Maren laughed. "All right. I pray you avoid the scent of Lutefisk."

"Who even _likes_ it?!"

"Everyone else apparently."


	3. A Night Out

Chocolate was, what was the word Olaf had taught her? Hedonistic. A word from a place called Greece and she meant to check out Arendelle's library sometime to learn more about it. No one _really_ had a need to learn about an ancient country halfway around the world, but she was interested now. But that was getting ahead of herself.

Honeymaren watched as Elsa savored one of her chocolates and _bless_ the spirits for the existence of chocolate and for Elsa enjoying chocolate so _hedonistically_.

She didn't know exactly what to _do_ about it but she was at least going to enjoy watching it, since watching Elsa was one of her favorite past times. Elsa finished her treat and licked her fingers clean, forcing Honeymaren to nearly choke on air. But she recovered (mostly) and coughed, "Hi."

Elsa jumped, then spotted her and pressed a hand to her heart. "You startled me."

"I'm sorry. I wanted to know if you wanted to show me around."

"I did promise that, didn't I?" Smiling, Elsa closed the top of her chocolate box and set it down on a table. She glanced up at some paintings, then turned to Honeymaren. "Where to start, where to start…"

Maren looked up at the paintings; Elsa looked so tense in one, though the gown she was depicted in _was_ beautiful. She looked at Elsa again, relaxed and free, if a bit awkward, and decided she liked this Elsa better. "Why don't we just walk around and figure it out as we go?"

"Okay. But first let me hide my chocolate so Anna doesn't sneak pieces while I'm out."

"I swear you two would go to war over chocolate."

Elsa waggled her finger, "The real war will be making sure she doesn't stick me with Lutefisk tasting duty. She's already making plans, I'm certain of it."

Maren started to laugh, and continued to laugh even when Elsa took her hand and pulled her up the stairs and towards her room.

"Laugh it up, Maren."

"Sorry," she replied, not at all sorry.

Elsa's room was smaller than she expected of a former queen, though she realized this must not have been her old room since Anna would have moved into the royal chambers. It was kind of cozy, she thought. There was a bookshelf covering one wall, the bed, and a cozy little couch near the fireplace. She watched as Elsa got down on the ground to push her chocolate box under the bed. Somehow, she doubted that would actually hide it from Anna but chose not to point it out.

"There!"

Honeymaren quickly averted her eyes before Elsa turned around. "Satisfied?"

"Not really, but if I hide them in the secret passages or library Anna will surely find them."

"You have a secret library?"

"Long story, I'll tell you about it back home, okay?"

She held out her hand, and Maren took it. It wasn't often that Elsa referred to the village as home, but she seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with the idea, which thrilled her. Elsa _belonged_ there, she was a much a child of the forest as Maren was and she'd only just begun to realize that.

Elsa got a mischievous smile on her face, held her finger in front of her lips so that Maren would stay quiet, and then led her into one of the hallways. She tugged on a light fixture, and a door panel swung open.

Maren raised her eyebrows.

"Shortcut out of the castle," Elsa whispered.

For a shortcut, it turned out to be long and winding, but it did indeed lead them out of the castle, and to a little cove on the south west side. From there, Maren could see the lanterns and lights of the kingdom reflected in the water. Beautiful, in its own way. "The view is nice, but how are we going to get to the bridge and across to the town?"

It was a stupid question and as soon as she said it she wanted to bury her face in her hands. Elsa was kind enough to not point it out aloud, though she did give her an amused smile as she created a bridge of ice for them. Silently, she started to cross, trying to hold onto what was left of her dignity.

Elsa caught her hand again, making her slow down. "It's okay."

"I keep forgetting you can do things like this."

"Yes." Elsa's smile was brighter than any of the lanterns and twice as beautiful.

They made it without incident. About the only negative Honeymaren could say about the lights was that it made the stars less bright. She hoped that cities and towns never grew so large that they would block out the stars entirely. Her entire life had been a life without stars and she never wanted to go back to that again.

"Have you ever had a candied apple?" Elsa asked, pulling her towards a stall and ordering two without bothering to wait for an answer.

"I guess I'm going to have one now?"

"Yes!"

Honeymaren took the proffered sweet and inspected it. It was very sweet smelling and while chocolate was in fact magnificent she wasn't so sure she was all that into candy just yet. But Elsa was looking at her with a hopeful and somewhat goofy expression and it was too endearing not to try. So she took a bite.

It was _cloyingly_ sweet, far more than what she usually got out of maples, and the melted candy was making her hands uncomfortably sticky. Still, it _was_ good and she took another bite. If Elsa could handle a little blood on her hands after a life of luxury, Maren could deal with sticky.

Muffled by her own candy, Elsa asked, "What do you think?"

"I thought it wasn't polite to talk with your mouth full." Maren wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before trying to get a cloth out of her pockets.

"Oops." Elsa looked embarrassed and swallowed before she spoke again. "I can't tell if you like it or not."

"It's really sweet. Almost _too_ sweet and the sticky isn't pleasant. But it's also good so I'm kind of conflicted."

"That's the reason I can only do one of these a year."

"You tell me that _now_?"

Elsa giggled. Maren shook her head and marveled at Elsa's mischievous side and how free she seemed.

"Okay," Elsa said, "We can clean up over here, there's a fountain for washing your face and hands."

"Is everything else we do going to be as messy?" Maren asked, following her. "I don't mind I just need warning."

"That was the worst of it," Elsa assured her, before they got to the task of cleaning up.

"Do you think the spirits would get upset if we pumped water from the river to the village?" Maren asked. It would be complicated, since they moved frequently, but there were a few sites they always came back to.

"I don't know." Elsa tapped her lip with her forefinger, "I think it's something worth looking into. I don't think we need to go too crazy, but easier access to water shouldn't be too harmful."

Her way of life had been, well, her way of life her whole life, and her mother's life, and her mother's mother's life. It didn't need to change and she didn't want it to change entirely. But pumping water might be a good change. "As long as it doesn't hurt the source of magic the same way damming the river did."

"Yes, we need to avoid that." Elsa nodded, then held out her hand again. "Ready to move on?"

"Yes. I think I hear music…"

Taking the hint, Elsa led her up the street. There was a square with musicians playing in the center and a number of people dancing. "I don't dance, but I like to watch."

"Not at all?"

"Nope," she replied, even as she shimmied her shoulders just a little bit in time to the music.

It was _adorable_ and Maren was torn between looking at Elsa and watching the dancers. The dance steps seemed easy enough to follow; she'd always had a good memory and an eye for patterns.

"Then I guess I'll just have to jump in on my own." Nothing ventured nothing gained, and it looked like fun.

"What? Maren, you don't know the steps."

"I think I can figure it out." She winked at Elsa, and then joined the dancers in their circle.

Maren whirled around, quickly catching on to the steps, passing from partner to partner. Every few spins, she'd catch Elsa watching her, but it was always too quick a glimpse for her to guess at what she was thinking. Dancing was so much fun, and she wished that Elsa would join them, but it had been pretty obvious she was uncomfortable with the idea. Even in the village, Elsa only watched when people danced, though Maren had thought she'd caught her wiggling around when she thought no one was looking.

The music slowed down and someone intercepted her as she tried to figure out how to adapt to the new steps. Maren looked up into Elsa's eyes. Elsa's brow was furrowed and her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she stared down at their feet. Unsure of where to put her hands, Maren placed them on Elsa's hips. "I thought you didn't dance."

"Shh, I'm concentrating." Elsa looked around them and then moved her arms around Maren's shoulders.

"I think the point is to not concentrate and to have fun." The slower dance was unexpected, and Maren kept glancing around, herself, to figure out what she was supposed to be doing. She was sure they looked awkward and flat footed, but again, the point was to have fun.

Elsa was warm against her, despite how cool the night had become.

"I've never done this before." Elsa finally looked into Maren's eyes. "Not when I wasn't alone."

"I'm trying to imagine you dancing around an empty room."

"Kind of pathetic, isn't it?"

"No," Maren shook her head. "Endearing."

Elsa opened her mouth, then closed it again and ducked her head. "One more song?"

"Okay."

That one more song turned out to be a lively one that left Maren out of breath by the end of it. They exited the square to some applause, though Maren wasn't sure which of them was more embarrassed by it.

"Anna will know about that by the time we get back," Elsa said, leaning against a low wall. She looked at Maren, her hair a tangled curtain on her head and in front of her face.

Maren was positive her hair was almost as much of a mess, and just as certain she didn't look anywhere near as beautiful as Elsa did right now.

"I think I need a drink," Maren rasped.

"A drink sounds like a good idea," Elsa agreed, her gaze on Maren unwavering. "And if we take our time getting back, I'll be less likely to be pounced by my sister."

There turned out to be a tavern nearby. The Northuldra didn't really have an economy the same way they did in Arendelle; mostly everyone helped everyone else and goods and services were traded for with other goods and services. Money as a concept was foreign and Maren didn't really like it.

Elsa ordered them drinks and Maren picked out a table in one corner where she could keep an eye on Elsa and the rest of the room. When Elsa sat down with two mugs, Maren asked. "You've been here before?"

"A few times. Kristoff took us because we both wanted to see what it was like, and…" She looked embarrassed. "I snuck out once or twice, just to people watch."

Maren took her mug and sniffed it. There was a bit of cinnamon to it, and some other fruity scents that might have included apple. It was warm, which she appreciated and when she tasted it it was comforting and not too sweet at all. "Oh, that's nice. My aunt makes something like this, though it's usually the kind of drink that will knock you on your butt if you drink too much."

Elsa leaned on the table, eyes half-lidded as she watched Maren enjoy the drink. "Would you believe I've never gotten drunk? There's Oaken's special cold remedy, but that doesn't really count."

"Yes," Maren answered, grinning at Elsa's faux-offended expression. "You don't like to lose control."

"Sometimes I wonder if I should let myself lose control once in awhile…"

"I think _everyone_ needs to lose control once in awhile," Maren said. She looked into her drink, then took a much longer sip from it. "As long as they do it in a safe manner."

Elsa gazed at her, smiling, then lifted her drink to her lips. Maren spent entirely too many seconds watching those lips, before she shook herself, then straightened and reached into her pouch. "I was going to wait until we got back to the castle, but this is as good a place as any."

She placed her prize from the game earlier down in front of Elsa. It was a stuffed horse, knitted from wool and painted blue. "As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to get it for you."

Slowly, Elsa picked the toy up, stroking the neck and back with one gentle finger. Tears welled up in her eyes and she nuzzled it with her face. She put her other hand over Maren's, "Thank you."

?

The lutefisk tasting contest was a Big Deal. It was such a big deal that the children's chorus had been gathered to sing the traditional lutefisk ballad as the booths finished their final preparations. The smell of lutefisk lingered low on the town like a thick, pungent fog. Elsa casually scratched at her nose; and iced over her sinuses.

"I am literally going to die," Anna whispered.

Elsa smiled and spoke out of the side of her mouth, "What was that, Anna? About a special guest taster this year?"

"I wasn't expecting them to make us _both_ do it."

"If I have to suffer, so do you." Elsa inclined her head towards the gathering towns folk as she approached the table. Someone pulled out their seats for them.

"Thank you, Kai."

"Of course, Your- Elsa."

The smile she gave Kai was genuine and warm. "You'll get used to it."

He smiled back, "Never."

She'd considered digging out one of her old dresses for this occasion, but had decided not to. She wasn't the queen any longer, at least not the Queen of Arendelle. All else aside, she was just Elsa, and so she was here as Elsa. Still, she'd made a few alterations to her new look, giving herself some comfortable flats and magicing up some more sparkles on her dress.

As Anna sat next to her, Elsa peered out into the crowd. She spotted Ryder eagerly wolfing down some lutefisk while chatting with the sheepherder, and Kristoff and Sven were entertaining a group of children. She elbowed Anna and pointed them out. Anna followed Elsa's finger and her face softened.

Elsa looked around, trying to find Honeymaren.

"He's going to be a great dad," Anna murmured.

"I hope that's a theoretical right now, Anna."

"What two adults do in the privacy of-"

"My old _office_?"

"What? How did-you're just jealous you never thought of it."

Elsa folded her arms, "I never met anyone I wanted to think about it with." She didn't need Anna to point out that she hadn't really _met_ many people, even after throwing the gates open.

"Prince whats-his-face was kind of cute?"

"You don't even remember his _name_."

Anna giggled. "Point taken, and he was unnaturally obsessed with swords."

"Not my type."

"So who's your type?"

Before Elsa could answer, Honeymaren walked up, waving. "I thought I was going to be late!"

"You're just in time, Maren." Elsa folded her hands on the table, her smile for Maren as warm as the one she'd had for Kai. Maybe she could get through this without either getting sick or strangling her sister for dragging her into it.

Anna looked at Elsa, then at Honeymaren, then at Elsa again. "Huh."

"I don't envy you, at all." Honeymaren waved her hand in front of her nose. "Or how you're going to be able to taste anything after this."

Elsa tapped her nose, then twirled her finger with a subtle display of sparkly ice.

Anna shoved her shoulder, "You cheat! Is that how you survived the last one?"

"That's a state secret," Elsa replied, enjoying her sister's dismay.

"I'm the Queen, I _am_ the State!" Anna turned to Honeymaren. "Can you believe this woman?"

Amused, Maren said, "It really isn't fair for you to cheat, Elsa."

Elsa looked taken aback, then sheepish. She couldn't tell if Maren was calling her out or just teasing her, but she didn't really want to disappoint her. "All right, all right, I'll play fair. I'll thaw my nostrils before the tasting."

"Wow." Anna leaned her chin on her fist, "You got her to cave just like that."

"Everyone has their own kind of magic." Maren winked at Anna, "For some of us it's just not quite as literal as others."

"You're both magical," Elsa assured them, taking Anna's hand with her right and reaching to grab Maren's hand with her left. "In your own ways. And I'm really glad I have you in my life."

"I really wish there was an easier way to talk to you, without bothering the spirits," Anna said. "I keep thinking telegraph wires or a new postal system, but I don't know that I like the idea of spoiling nature with unnecessary technology. We're not our grandfather."

"I think it might be a little different if it's something out of the way that doesn't weaken magic," Honeymaren pointed out. Her thumb rubbed across Elsa's knuckle, raising goosebumps along her arm.

"Arendelle could use a new postal system," Elsa said, then bit her lip. "That is, of course, up to you."

"Elsa, it's okay to give me advice." Anna leaned against her, smiling reassuringly, "I mean that. You spent your whole _life_ studying up on these things. But yeah, I'm looking into ideas about post."

"Tell me more about this telegraph system?" Honeymaren came around the table and sat down on Elsa's left. Elsa found herself returning the knuckle stroking gesture under the table.

"Okay so it runs off of electricity." Anna pointed out some lights above the square, "We installed those a few months ago, they're powered by wind. Natural wind, I mean. The windmills turn turbines and we use some wires to bring the energy of the wind to town. It's kind of an experiment based on things I've read about in other countries. You can harnass water with water wheels, and I'm sure there's a way to use the sun too but I don't know how."

"I remember some of these ideas in my scientific journals," Elsa said. She was already making some of the connections. "Telegraphs use the wires to send sounds, right? We already use flags and lights to send messages shorter distance."

"Yeah. It's just beeps, but if both sides know what the beeps mean you can send messages like, really fast. Almost instantaneously."

"So we'd have to make a code book for both sides." Elsa bounced in her seat a little, "I think it's a no brainer to set up this system within the kingdom, so the real question is how to get the wires to the Enchanted Forest and if the spirits will object. I think I can make them understand it's not meant to harm anything, but we should talk to Yelana and the others first. It's their call."

"We're already benefiting from a trade route," Maren said. "But too much change too fast is a little … uncomfortable."

"For now, Gale enjoys our little note trading," Anna said, reaching around Elsa to squeeze Maren's shoulder. "I just don't want to exploit it."

"I think if we could see a demonstration of this system at work, it would be a good first step," Maren replied. "We can figure out anything else after that."

"You know," Elsa said. "If we do it right the wires and poles can be made to blend into the country-side so that no one really knows they're there unless they know to look. If they looked like trees..."

"First steps first." Anna squeezed Elsa's hand, "See what the spirits say, and if the Northuldra are even interested."

Someone started beating on a drum, and Elsa fought back a groan. It was _time_. The ballad was long, and somber, with a low steady beat underneath it that always reverberated through Elsa's chest. She looked askance at Maren, who winked at her. Squaring her shoulders, Elsa plastered a regal smile on her face as the contestants started to march their concoctions in a line towards the judging table. Anna sat next to her, a similar smile on her own face and Elsa felt a surge of pride.

Seeming to realize if she sat there much longer she'd might be mistaken for a judge, Honeymaren squeezed Elsa's hand once more before sliding off the bench and merging into the crowd. She stayed within Elsa's field of view and stuck her tongue out at her. Elsa covered her mouth to muffle a laugh.

"She's a keeper," Anna said, somehow without moving more than one corner of her mouth.

"What?"

The contestants arrived just then, and the first lutefisk was presented to the sisters. As she'd promised, Elsa slowly thawed her nostrils and swore vengeance upon both Anna and Honeymaren.

In Arendelle, lutefisk was traditionally served with some form of potato and either carrots or mashed peas. Boiled potatoes were the most popular, for reasons Elsa could never fathom, but the first one looked mercifully baked, rather than boiled. She immediately gave the cook an extra point for that, as she inspected the plate.

In order to be fair, she and Anna scored each plate on both how it looked and how it tasted, and also how _lutefisk_ it was. Which meant they couldn't actually deduct points for the smell, as much as Elsa or Anna might wish to.

Of the eight contestants, all served it with potatoes, and either carrots, mashed peas or both. Of the eight contestants, six served cod, one haddock, and one with pollock.

On Elsa's score-card, the haddock and one of the cod had the highest scores; the pollock unfortunately was overcooked and the potatoes the blandest Elsa had ever tasted. She wanted to just give the haddock the win just because it didn't smell bad, but it suffered in a few other ways that brought it down a notch.

It would be impolite to wipe her tongue with a cloth for an hour, so she sent someone for drinks, while she and Anna deliberated.

"Listen, Jonas used haddock which is like, an automatic five points," Anna said, while they waited. She put her scorecard down so Elsa could see it. "But seriously … Did I do this fairly?"

Elsa looked it over, then compared it to her own. "I think so. You set aside your opinion of the dish as a whole so you could judge it purely on the merits. You've always been really good at that sort of thing."

Anna looked relieved. "I'm kind of glad you got roped into this this year. But I think I can handle it myself next year."

"You can always ask me anything," Elsa promised.

Kai delivered their drinks and Elsa grabbed hers to take a swig. She coughed at the strong alcoholic taste, "What is this?"

"Ale," Anna said, knocking back half of hers. Elsa stared at her sister like she'd grown five heads, and Anna stared back. "What?"

"Ale is just … much more bitter than wine or champagne, that's all."

"Just drink it slowly anyway," Anna said, patting her arm. " I know you don't have much of a tolerance."

Elsa hadn't know Anna had a tolerance of any sort, but somehow it seemed to suit her. She took another sip, and coughed, though it went down smoother that time. "Anyway, the cod was cooked perfectly in Katarina's dish and her potatoes were actually seasoned."

"I think she grilled them, which was unexpected but honestly the highlight of the day," Anna agreed. "But there were too many raw onions!"

"You always think there are too many raw onions."

"At least there was salt, that second dish had almost none at all."

Elsa frowned. "There was plenty of salt in that dish. But we're picking between these last two."

Anna sighed, sipping her mug as she studied her score-card again. "I can't believe I'm going to say this."

"Katarina?"

"Yes." Anna grimaced, "The _cod_ wins."

Elsa grinned, but let Anna have her moment as she stood and rang the traditional lutefisk bell.

"If I might have everyone's attention please?" Anna's voice rang out over the crowd, which quickly hushed. Elsa nursed her drink, feeling pleasantly warm and fuzzy.

"The winner of this years Lutefisk Cooking Contest is Katarina! Her cod was perfectly cooked and her potatoes were so amazing that I want the castle cook to learn how to replicate them!"

Applause broke out as Katarina, a lanky dark skinned woman with pearly eyes bounced up to the table. "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"It was a lovely dish," Elsa said. "Probably the best lutefisk I've ever had."

Katarina looked like she might faint. "Thank you!"

Anna sniffled and fanned at her eyes. "Okay okay! Where's the apron and the hat! We have to give her the apron and the hat!"

The children's chorus started up a livelier version of the ballad as the castle chef marched solemnly out, carrying a folded up apron and a hat in the colors of Arendelle. He presented the prizes to the woman, who accepted them happily and quickly put them on.

This part was _definitely_ the best, Elsa thought, and as she watched Anna beam she knew her sister felt the same way.


	4. Mornings

Honeymaren stepped out of her guest room, rolling her shoulders and stretching out her back. Arendelle's beds were actually _too_ soft, and she'd be glad to get back home and into her own bed tonight. She'd spent most of the morning talking with Kristoff and Anna, and had returned to pack the few things she'd picked up while in Arendelle. But her back still protested.

Her door closed, and she heard Elsa curse, "Not so loud!"

"I'm sorry?"

"Shh." Elsa came into view, her fingers pressed into her forehead.

"How much of that did you drink yesterday again?" A lot, Maren knew, considering how clingy she'd gotten. Elsa was kind of an adorable drunk and it had been a kind of sweet, sweet torture.

"Three? More mugs after my first?" Elsa said, wincing. "My tongue feels like wool." She pulled on her tongue and Maren laughed.

"Let's get you some water." Maren lowered her voice, taking Elsa's hand and guiding her- "Actually I don't know where to get you water."

Elsa grimaced, but still smiled. "Down this hallway, second door on the left. We … the castle has a little mini kitchen here."

"Right. All this room and not enough people. It's kind of creepy."

"It was a lot busier when I was a girl." Elsa seemed in no inclination to move very quickly, and Maren found herself tugging her along with more force than she'd thought she'd need. "There are more staff but I think most of them are asleep still. What time is it?"

Maren looked out the window. "Just before noon I think."

"Oh God, I slept that late?"

"You're adorable when you're drunk," Maren said. She put her arm around Elsa since she still seemed a little unsteady. "Are you sure you're up to riding the Nokk?"

"As long as I don't do any loop-de-loops on the way home, I'll be fine."

Elsa poured herself a glass of water once they were in the kitchen, and guzzled it like she'd just come in from an hour's exercise. Maren watched her, amusement on her face, though her eyes focused on some water that beaded on Elsa's jaw. "The loops were fun, but I think that's a good idea."

"Can you uhm…" Elsa pointed to a cabinet near the door. "There's some willow extract in there, I hope it helps with this headache."

"It might," Maren said, cheerily, grinning to herself when Elsa groaned in protest. She found a number of bottles in the cabinet, and sniffed them until she found the willow. "Here, just put a little in your water."

"Thank you, Maren." Elsa gave her a grateful look.

"Are you ready to go home?"

Elsa blinked, setting her now empty glass down. "I … yes and no? I never like leaving Anna, but I'm a guest here."

"An interloper?" Maren asked, stepping closer, "Remember when we talked about that?"

"Yes and you're going to tell me I'm no more an interloper in my ow- my sister's castle than I am in the village and forest."

"Yes, exactly." Maren stopped in front of Elsa, hands on the table on either side of her, and leaned forward. "Anna will always be home to you, just like my family is home to me. I want to call you family, too."

"Are you trying to make me cry in the kitchen?" Elsa whispered.

"I'm just trying … I don't know." Maren peered up into Elsa's eyes because it was that or stare at her lips. "I don't know what I'm doing half the time around you but I really-"

The door burst open, and Maren quickly stepped back from Elsa as Elsa pressed her palm into her face. "Ow!"

Anna looked between them, raised an eyebrow, then walked over to the cabinet. "Willow extract?"

"Already tried that."

"I think we've got some laudanum in here somewhere," Anna said, fishing around in the cabinet.

"I don't think it's that bad," Elsa assured her. "I'll work with the willow extract."

"Sure thing." Anna kept her voice low. "You should have eaten more last night."

"I was full of lutefisk."

"You had a few bites of 8 dishes." Honeymaren reached over and rubbed Elsa's back, "That wasn't a meal."

"Maren is right." Anna poured herself some water and added a little extract for herself. "You need to drink a lot of water and put food in you if you're going to drink that much."

"Please tell me I didn't do anything embarrassing…"

Maren looked at Anna. "No. Nothing embarrassing."

"Not one little embarrassing thing," Anna confirmed, darting her eyes.

Alarmed, Elsa looked between Maren and Anna. "Yeah, I'm not believing _either_ of you."

"Whatever would give you that impression?" Anna waved her hand, "It's fine, everything is fine."

"Anna…"

"You're a silly drunk," Maren said. "Some interesting jokes, that's all. And you were a little clingy."

Elsa clearly didn't like this at all. She refilled her water to give herself something to do and looked somewhat offended at herself.

"It was cute, it's fine." Anna hugged her. "You spent most of the night draped all over Maren."

Maren had been desperately trying to signal to Anna that she should _not at all say that thing_, but she said that thing and even looked over in Maren's direction with a mischievous smile.

It was true, Maren decided. All siblings were _evil_.

"I'm so sorry," Elsa said, eyes wide.

"It's okay"

"It was completely-"

"No, really, it's fine."

"-inappropriate and-"

"_Elsa_."

Elsa closed her mouth.

"I'm not offended, it's okay."

"Oh." Elsa still looked unsure, but she at least stopped trying to apologize, turning back to fill her glass one more time.

"You keep doing that," Anna told her, then grabbed Maren's hand and yanked her out of the kitchen. Once they were down the hall a bit, she stopped them and folded her arms.

"What?" Maren asked.

"I probably shouldn't have mentioned the draping thing and I'm sorry."

That hadn't been what Maren had expected but she nodded graciously. "Accepted, but I don't think it's that big a deal. Honestly there are worse things she could have done and having her in my lap was-" Nice? Wonderful? Confusing? No, not really that confusing… "Wasn't really one of them."

"Uh huh." Anna looked unconvinced of _something_. "I know Elsa is happy discovering who she is, but she's still _Elsa_. A little awkward around people and a little goofy and it's going to take her longer than a year to find a new comfort level and … I don't actually know where I'm going with this."

"You asked me to watch out for her, and I will. That goes for more than just danger, that's in general." Maren squeezed one of Anna's arms.

"Right … good." Anna exhaled.

"Go spend a bit more time with her before we leave," Maren suggested, desperately needing some air. "Where are Ryder and Kristoff?"

"I think Kristoff was napping, but Ryder is with Olaf out in the square doing God knows what and I really should have asked what they were planning."

"Thanks." Maren shooed Anna towards her sister. Finding her way out of the castle was easier said than done, but once she found the big doors she was able to get out. Next time, she decided that she'd map the castle if for no other reason than to stop getting lost in it.

She came upon a scene of her brother wobbling on a ladder that had tilted onto one leg, lifting Olaf up to a pine tree as they precariously tried to place the star on top. Ryder's head snapped over to her. "Uh…"

"This is exactly what it looks like," Olaf said.

Maren tilted her head, eyeing the situation dubiously and trying to understand what the point of decorating a tree was. "So do you guys want help or do you have this?"

Olaf shifted on Ryder's arm and the ladder shook dangerously. "There's a thirty percent chance this entire tree will come crashing down on top of us and make Anna cry."

"You don't have this," Maren said, rushing over and grabbing the ladder as it started to tilt away from the tree. She planted both feet on the ground and wrestled with the ladder as it swang wildly out of control, taking a screaming Ryder and Olaf along for the ride. Olaf fumbled the star and it spun out of his hand towards the ground below. At the last moment Maren secured the ladder and kicked her foot out, catching the star before it could shatter on the ground.

"What is going on out here?!" Elsa ran down the steps towards the tree, Anna just behind her.

Olaf's eyes darted from the tree, to Ryder, and then to Maren. Ryder blurted out, "This is exactly what it looks like."

Anna gingerly picked up the star from Maren's foot. "I don't want to know."

She handed the star to her sister, and Maren watched as Elsa created a spiral staircase out of ice and walked up it to secure the star. Even with a hangover, Elsa's magic was so effortless and she was so graceful that Maren had probably watched her move around more often than she wanted to admit.

"Maren, can you keep the ladder steady from down there?" Elsa asked.

"Yes." She gripped it tighter, as Elsa leaned out of her stairway to hold onto the top of the ladder until Ryder and Olaf had climbed down. Once they were safe, Elsa let go and Maren carefully carried it away from the tree and leaned it against a wall.

When she turned back around, the ice stairs were gone and Elsa was standing in front of Olaf with her hands on her hips. "Isn't it a little early to put up a tree?"

"Yeah I thought so too," Olaf said. "But then I also thought that if we put it up now we'd have all fall and winter to enjoy it!"

Anna knelt next to Olaf. "The tree won't last that long, Olaf. We'll have to replace it every few weeks."

"What if I froze it?" Elsa suggested. "Not all the way, but just enough. With my magic it will last until after the holidays."

"Yeah!" Anna stood up, "It's worth a shot, and better than cutting down a bunch of trees."

"Okay." Elsa shook out her fingers and then twirled her hands. A cold breeze spun up around the tree, a path of frost in its wake. The pine needles froze, the tree turning almost white in stark contrast to the colorful but haphazard decorations Olaf and Ryder had started to hang.

Maren stared at Elsa, "Beautiful…"

"I know, isn't it?" Anna put her arm around Maren, "I kind of like it like this better."

"I have no idea what this tradition is," Maren admitted.

"Oh right, you didn't come down last winter. It's a winter tradition. We have a lot of different kinds in Arendelle because we have people from all over the world. But for my family, having a tree decorated is one of them."

"We love to cut down trees and dress their corpses in candles," Olaf said.

Elsa smiled. "Not exactly the phrasing I'd have used."

"You look like you're feeling better," Maren said,

"Might be she gave herself a brain freeze," Anna mused.

"Or the willow extract is kicking in." Elsa stepped in and hugged Anna tightly. "I'll see you for game night next week, okay? And we should make arrangements for Christmas."

"Gotcha. If you miss Christmas I'll be coming up there personally to drag you down here" Anna squeezed Elsa back, and gave Honeymaren a look as she pulled back. "Be safe, all of you."

"No loop-de-loops," Elsa promised.

"Not what I meant but you know what? That counts too."

"I love you too, Anna."

Anna laughed. "I love you."

Maren got another hug from Anna while Elsa summoned the Nokk and coaxed it into accepting passengers again.

"You should come to game night."

"I'll think about it."

"Elsa would _really_ like it."

Anna said that as though that would somehow make it more likely for Maren to come along and the most annoying thing was that _it worked_, "Okay, okay, I'll do more than think about it."

"Maren, Ryder, you ready to go?" Elsa balanced her chocolate boxes in front of her.

Ryder looked around. "Where's Kristoff?"

"Still napping," Anna replied, looking smug.

"O-kay." Ryder started for Elsa and the Nokk, though he waited for Maren to mount behind Elsa before hopping up to join them.

Elsa leaned back against Maren as she guided the Nokk out of the castle and then onto the fjord. There was less talking on the return trip. Maren was content with that, her arms loosely around Elsa's waist. Ryder dozed for most of the ride, making Maren wonder if he'd actually gotten any sleep.

She kept her voice low, just a whisper in Elsa's ear. "Taking longer this time."

"Sorry," Elsa whispered back, shivering against Maren, "I'm still not feeling too well. I'm not sure the warm fuzzies were worth this."

Maren snickered, laying her chin on Elsa's shoulder and trying very hard not to enjoy it too much. "All good things in moderation, or so I've been told."

They lapsed into silence again, riding more like a breeze than the wind. It was late afternoon by the time they reached the Forest. The Nokk stopped at the shore line and Ryder all but fell off.

He rubbed at a crick in his neck, "I need to check on the herd."

"See you later, thanks for coming."

He waved, turning and wandering off. Maren watched him go, torn between going with him and staying with Elsa. Responsibility won out over sentiment, and she slipped off the Nokk. "I should help him."

Elsa rubbed the Nokk's neck, looking pensive.

"Do you want to join me?"

"No, no, it's okay." Elsa smiled at her. "I think I'll ride around for a little while and reconnect with the forest."

"All right."

Elsa nodded once, then the Nokk reared up before bolting away like a shot, leaving Maren staring after Elsa with a twisted sort of knot in her chest. She turned away, walking down the path her brother had taken just a few moments before.

She found him with the herd, which seemed to have managed well in their absence with the help of a few of the others. Despite that, she didn't think she ever wanted to leave them without either herself or Ryder nearby for too much longer than they had this week. "Are they mad at us for being gone for so long?"

"Eh, it was just a few days, I don't think they're that upset. Ren tends to spoil them rotten anyway."

Maren rolled her eyes. "I told her not to."

"Since when does Ren listen? She doesn't even listen to her cousin."

"_Everyone_ listens to Haladreth."

"Everyone but Ren," Ryder insisted.

Choosing to concede the point, Maren hugged one of the reindeer, burying her face in his thick fur and relishing the familiar musky scent.

Ryder inched closer, then leaned back casually against the same reindeer. "Sooo. Did you have a good time?"

"A good time?"

"You know," Ryder nudged her with his elbow. "Lutefisk … _dancing_."

"Lutefisk is a food not a dance."

"I don't know, I saw a lot of weird things in Arendelle and I think they do actually have a lutefisk dance." He scratched at his jaw, "Who knew they loved lutefisk as much as I do!"

"A perfect match," Maren agreed.

"Sort of like you and Elsa."

She turned her head away, resuming her position with a face full of reindeer fur.

"You know, I think she likes you too. Thinks you're swell!"

Maren grunted.

"Swell is a really good word, I heard Queen Anna use it and you know, I think it's swell!"

When the spirits didn't actually rise up and cut her down out of mercy, she stepped away from the reindeer, "That's swell. You can sleep with the herd tonight, I'm going to turn in early."

"Mare."

He was the only person in the world allowed to call her that, so she stopped and looked at him, surprised by the seriousness on his face. "Yes?"

"It'll be okay. Promise. You've just got to stop fighting it."

"What are you, some kind of love expert?"

"Yep." He gave her a little shove, "I'll see you in the morning!"

She wasn't fighting anything, she wanted to tell him, his words swirling around in her head as she walked back to the village. Firelight flickered between their homes and starlight filtered in from the canopy above. Maren loved the view, especially the part where Elsa was sitting on a log staring into a fire, the flames casting her face in hues of red and gold.

Okay so maybe Ryder had a point.

Maren was going to surprise her, until she saw how pensive Elsa looked. So she made sure to walk loudly enough to be heard, crunching her feet on some leaves. Elsa had a tired smile on her face as she scooted over to let Maren sit down. "Reindeer doing all right?"

"Yes, thank you."

"Good, I felt a little guilty taking you away for so long." Elsa patted Maren's hand, and Maren took the opportunity to hold it.

"Don't be, I had a good time and they weren't even mad at us."

"I'm glad." Elsa's eyes darted to their joined hands, before she looked back into the fire. Or, just past the fire. Maren followed her gaze and realized she was looking at the goahti she was staying in. She and Ryder had built it for Elsa; insisted on it, really. Elsa had only agreed as long as they didn't go 'crazy' with it. So it was the same design and size as everyone else.

Maren bit her lip, then hazarded an ask, "What's bothering you?"

"I'm just remembering how much I missed sleeping near people. I slept alone and isolated for so long that I guess I hadn't known what I was missing until now."

"I could sleep with you tonight if you'd like?"

"I'm- I'm sorry?" Elsa stared at her with wide eyes, her cheeks and ears noticeably red.

"Oh. Oh no, I mean, I could stay with you so you wouldn't feel alone." Maren focused her vision on the campfire in an attempt to help alleviate their mutual embarrassment while also trying to process where Elsa's mind had clearly gone.

"Oh." Elsa exhaled the word almost like a prayer. "Okay. Okay. _Okay_!"

Maren's stomach flipflopped as she struggled with how adorable Elsa was. In a teasing tone, she asked, "Is that a yes or no?"

Elsa leaned over and kissed Maren's cheek. "That's a yes."

?

Something blew in Elsa's ear, and she shifted in the bed, drawing closer to the Warm Cozy Thing. Gradually, the veil of sleep lifted, and she opened one of her eyes to see it was still dark, though through the open flap on the window it was obvious the sun was soon to wake.

The Warm Cozy Thing turned out to be Honeymaren, her arm thrown across Elsa's waist and their legs tangled together. It was her breath in Elsa's ear that had woken her up.

Elsa dug into the hazy fog of her memory; right, Maren had asked if she wanted to sleep with her, sleep sleep and not anything that Elsa's imagination had suddenly presented to her in the moment. Elsa of course had been mortified, but sleeping for so many nights in a row at the castle had reminded Elsa of how lonely it had been growing up in her self-imposed exile.

Carefully, she propped herself up on her elbow and pushed Maren's hair out of her face, grinning at the very soft little snore coming out of her mouth. Sometimes she thought Maren was so pretty that she couldn't stand it.

She watched Maren sleep until she couldn't ignore the complaints of her bladder, and disentangled herself from the woman.

A bird's chirping greeted her outside and she smiled at it as it hopped along the ground. "Excuse me."

Once she'd taken care of her business, she returned to the goahti. Purple flame caught her attention and she saw Bruni skitter off into the woods. The little spirit stopped, looked back at her, and then ran a few more feet away, before looking at her again.

"You want me to follow you?"

"Elsa, what is it?" Maren walked out, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Bruni wants to show me something." Elsa nodded her head in the direction of the spirit, "Come on."

She ran after Bruni, Honeymaren close on her heels. The salamander spirit seemed to be moving impossibly fast, darting from tree to tree and rock to rock and forcing Elsa to occasional put out the fire he left behind.

He was either excited or really upset about something, and the longer they ran the stronger Elsa's anxiety about what that something could be grew.

They emerged into a glade, where reindeer milled about and Ryder lay snoring against a log. Elsa looked from him to Bruni. "I don't understand?"

Bruni hopped onto the log, darting around and around Ryder's head. Elsa clutched her hand in front of her chest as she drew closer. She had a _bad_ feeling about this.

"Ryder?" Maren asked, kicking him in the leg. "Wake up, you're freaking us out."

But he didn't respond to his sister, and when Elsa knelt and gently shook him he didn't respond to that either. Shifting her body to shield his face from Maren, Elsa pried open one of his eyes; they were their normal blue, glazed from sleep. He didn't respond to that either but she sat back, falling heavily onto her rear. "Oh thank God."

"Elsa? What's going on?" Maren sat next to Ryder, staring at him worriedly.

"A year ago," Elsa said, her voice less shaky than she felt. "A few months before we met. There was a _situation_ in Arendelle. Most of the kingdom fell under a sickness we called the blight. Animals would turn pale and fall into fitful sleep, and then it started to afflict people."

Maren swallowed. " Is … is this the blight?"

"I don't think so. His eyes haven't turned black and he's sleeping peacefully." Elsa stared intently at Ryder, tilting her head and looking slightly to the left. His soul seemed to be at peace, a faint white glow like a superimposed photograph. "…People would relive their worst nightmares over and over, and if you tried to wake them they'd scream constantly and attack you. By the time we figured it out only a few people were unaffected, and they're the only ones who really remember what actually happened."

Leaning against Ryder, Maren closed her eyes. She looked a little relieved. "I don't like the sound of that."

"It was horrible. But this isn't it and I don't know _what_ it is. We should get him back to the village, maybe Yelana or Haladreth might know what to do." Elsa got to her feet, holding her hand out to Maren. "Help me get him onto one of the reindeer."

Maren nodded, taking Elsa's hand and letting herself be pulled to her feet. "He's … peaceful?"

"Yes," Elsa assured her.

Together, they were able to lift him onto the back of a reindeer, and Elsa picked Bruni up and put him on her shoulder. "Thank you for leading us to him." She patted the spirit's head before letting Maren guide the reindeer back to the village.

"Did you get it? This blight."

Elsa bit her lip. "Yes. But unlike everyone else, I remember my nightmares."

Maren looked back at her, over the reindeer. "May I ask?"

"Among other things? Letting everyone down and being a bad queen."

Mercifully, Maren didn't press any further. She seemed to be too worried about her brother to carry on any further conversation and Elsa was grateful. She didn't want to think about the nightmares that had involved Anna.

There were a few others awake once they reached the village, and Elsa could sense unease rustling under the surface. She looked up at the sky, which had barely begun to brighten despite how long they'd been awake already.

Maren felt it too, and they exchanged a look when Haladreth and Yelana rushed over.

"Ryder too?" Yelana asked.

Haladreth picked him up and threw him over her shoulder. The lines on her face were long. "My wife wouldn't wake up. Ren too."

"Ryder makes four," Yelana explained. Elsa followed Haladreth as she carried Ryder into one of the huts, where her wife and Ren were laying, along with one of the children. Elsa kept her arms stiff at her side, though she felt ice shards in her heart at the sight.

"They're like Ryder," She said, after a moment. "Peaceful, but asleep. Has anything like this ever happened here before?"

"Not in my lifetime," Yelana said. "And I can't think of any stories about sleeping sicknesses. I'll consult with the other elders and see if we can't discover something. Have you encountered anything like this?"

Swallowing her fear, Elsa explained the nightmares again, and then, reluctantly, the cure. "It all happened because of me. I suppressed my own nightmares, and then my sister expressed them for me subconsciously. This doesn't seem to be the same, and none of the animals have gotten sick yet."

Yelana patted her arm. "We'll figure it out."

Elsa ran her fingers through her hair. "There might be answers in my parents' library. They had a book with all kinds of old stories in ancient runes that my mother had been translating and there might be more. Anna was the one that did most of the exploring there."

"What kind of runes?"

She glanced at Maren, then sketched what she remembered of them in the air with glittering ice. "Like this?"

Maren looked them over, eyes growing wide she did so, "I can read these. Hold on."

She ran off to the central goahti, returning a moment later holding an old, carefully preserved scroll. She unrolled it to show Elsa. "It's an old language, older than Arendelle I'm pretty sure. My mother's side of the family has always tried to preserve the knowledge. Just in case."

"Would you be okay leaving Ryder?" Elsa asked.

"If this can help him, then yes."

A breeze rustled Elsa's skirts and a note dropped into her hand. She was tearing it open even before she acknowledged Gale. She read it, and the note froze over. It took Maren several attempts to get her attention. "Elsa?"

She blinked, and looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. "It's from Anna. Kristoff won't wake up either."


	5. Whisper and Reflections

Anna paced back and forth in the throne room, wringing her hands together. "Okay, okay okay. Maybe they're all just really tired. Maybe it's some kind of cold? No sniffles and Olaf played the drums and Kristoff still wouldn't wake up and we even tried a reindeer call and all it did was confuse Sven and _where_ is Elsa if this is magic we'll need her insight-"

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, Kai?" She came to a halt, turning to face him with some amount of dread.

He looked tired, his face pale. "I couldn't wake Gerda. And there was a huntress brought in from the woods a few hours ago."

"Oh no…" Anna closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. We're going to move her and Kristoff to the main ballroom. We'll convert the whole thing into a sick ward and bring in the sleepers so they're all in one place. The doctor will need help so I want volunteers to help care for them. Keeping them clean, that sort of thing." She'd volunteer herself but she thought she was going to be busy doing a whole lot of other things.

"You fear it might spread."

"Yes." Anna squared her shoulders, dropping her hands to her sides. She took a breath, and then another one before she spoke. "Send out messengers; the castle will become the main quarantine zone and Arendelle's borders are closed. No one in, no one out without a royal written authorization. If this is an illness maybe we can limit the spread. If it's magic…"

Well, she'd deal with that however she had to do so, hopefully with Elsa's help.

Satisfied that Kai would follow her orders, she resumed pacing. Over the past year Anna had studied any number of possible disasters, in part out of a general interest and in part so that she'd be _prepared_. Earthquakes were unlikely, but blizzards were common, and plagues, massive storms and sudden rogue waves were not unknown. She'd been working on a plague plan off and on for months; where to keep the sick, what to do to slow the spread. It hadn't seemed to be a high priority until suddenly, it was. But this wasn't like any plague she'd read about.

Which meant it was probably magic which meant only the spirits might know how it was spread, let alone how to _cure_ it, which meant she needed the magic half of the human-spirit bridge. "Damn it, Elsa, what's taking so long?"

Anna had the horrible thought that Elsa was afflicted too, or the Northundra. She'd never stopped to think where Elsa's priorities might be now; she lived with them and she guarded the forest so maybe it came before Arendelle. And before Anna.

Anna's shoulders sagged. The simple truth was that Arendelle would come first for Anna, too. _But_ she thought that maybe that was the point and the best way to care for both of their parents' peoples. _Their_ peoples. Elsa would come, and they'd figure this out together. And maybe after, Anna might go up and visit Elsa and spend a few weeks with her mother's side of the family.

"Why couldn't my first crisis be something simpler?" And less personal. Her eyes turned in the direction of the ballroom. If anything happened to Kristoff she didn't know _what_ she'd do. Once, she'd thought Elsa and Olaf had died, and the grief had been immobilizing. She never wanted to feel that way again.

Footsteps echoed on the marble floor, preceding Elsa's arrival, Honeymaren close behind her. Anna threw herself at Elsa, hugging her tightly now that she was assured her sister was okay. "Oh thank God."

"I'm fine, and I'm really glad you're fine," Elsa stepped back and gave her a look over. "Where's Kristoff, and is anyone else afflicted?"

"Ryder and some of the others are asleep," Honeymaren said.

"I was afraid of that." Anna took their hands and pulled them towards the ballroom, "I just set up one of the ballrooms as an infirmary, Kristoff should have been moved there by now. I know of at least two more and that's probably just the beginning."

She stopped at the threshold, turning to look at Elsa, keeping her voice low. "You don't think it's the same thing as the nightmares, do you?"

"No," Elsa answered, almost before Anna could finish asking. "No, it's not. At least not with Ryder. Show me Kristoff."

Unsure how Elsa could be so certain, but trusting in her, Anna pushed the door open - and came to an immediate stop, Elsa running into her and Maren running into Elsa.

There were _way_ more people than she expected. At least a dozen laid on cots, beds, or bundles of blankets. And yet the only thing Anna could think to say was, "Wow, Kai moves fast."

"Oh my God," Elsa whispered. She stepped around Anna and to the side a few feet, and Anna couldn't figure out what she was _doing_ but she was doing _something_. So Anna let Elsa do Elsa and rushed over to check on Kristoff.

He was exactly the same way she'd seen him last, sleeping peacefully, mouth open and snoring loudly. Sven was laying next to him and he lifted his head to call mournfully when she approached. She stroked Sven's chin. "I know, Sven. I'm worried too."

"He was napping when we left yesterday," Maren said, kneeling next to Sven and hugging him.

"He slept all day and all night and then I couldn't wake him up," Anna replied. She cupped his cheek, then patted it. "You are in so much trouble when you wake up, worrying me like this."

Kristoff didn't stir, and his snoring remained unchanged. Anna closed her eyes, "I actually love his snoring just … not like this."

"We'll figure something out," Elsa said, putting her hands on Anna's shoulders. She knelt behind her and slowly slid her arms around her.

Anna leaned back into the hug. "Do you have any idea what's happening?"

"It's not the nightmares. We won't be seeing any Nattmara." Elsa was warm and comforting in a way that reminded Anna of their mother. "They're all exactly the same as Ryder; sleeping soundly and peacefully. Their eyes aren't black. And I haven't been repressing my own nightmares or anything like that."

"Being all healthy?" Anna turned around in Elsa's arms to smile at her. "Okay. I think we should start with the library, there's _got_ to be something there that can help."

Elsa nodded. "That's one of the reasons I brought Honeymaren. She can read the runes in mother's books!"

"The elders back home are trying to remember if there are any stories like this," Maren interjected. "Between all of us I'm sure we'll find the solution."

Anna took in the way Elsa smiled at Maren and took solace that at least _something_ was going well for them. "Okay, lets go to the secret library."

Before she left the ballroom, Anna located Kai to give him some more instructions and tell him to prepare the other two ballrooms as well as the throne room if they got more sleepers. She hoped it wouldn't come to opening up the guest rooms and the game room, but she left the option open.

Once that was settled, she led the way to the entrance to the secret library. It really was a secret library, complete with secret entrance.

It was, conveniently, in the actual library. There was a giant stone horse, rearing up as if for battle, that stood in one corner. Elsa reached up and pulled down on one of the legs. There was a click, and then grinding stone as the bookcase behind the statue swung open.

"And to think you once banned me from exploring this," Anna said, shooting a look at Elsa.

Elsa looked appropriately ashamed. "It was a stressful time, and I didn't really want the reminder of our parents keeping secrets."

"You and me both." Anna started inside, explaining for Maren's benefit. "I was trying to find the cure for the _last_ time everyone fell asleep."

"The nightmares."

"Yep."

The library was windowless, filled floor to tall ceiling with sparkling shelves carved directly from the stone and left unpainted. Tiny crystals were embedded in the stone and twinkled welcomingly in the warm candle-light. There were hundreds of books, and artifacts and scientific instruments. And glistening in the light was the painted ceiling that resembled the northern sky. Anna wondered if this might have been the clue to explain why her parents had left, and if it had been here to begin with.

She had cleaned the place up for Elsa as a sort of cozy little hide-away, after they'd saved the kingdom and everything, organizing the books as best as she could figure. Many of the books were about magic, though there were almanacs and other science tomes scattered about.

Maren looked up at a portrait of a man with a shining sword. "Who is that?"

"Aren, legendary founder of Arendelle," Elsa supplied. "Though most of his legend turned out to be myth and symbolism."

"That's usually how it works." Anna walked over to the worktable, where the book _Secrets of the Magic Makers_ remained prominently placed, next to their father's sketch book. The book was filled with ancient runes, painstakingly translated by their mother, but by Anna's guess she'd only ever finished half the book, if that. There were a number of particularly scary looking pages that Queen Iduna had never touched…

"Have you spent much time in here?" Elsa asked, walking over to the work table and placing her hand on her sister's back as they leaned over the book together.

"Not much. This was supposed to be your refuge. Even if you only got to use it for like … two months before. You know."

"Anna, it's as much your refuge as it was mine, and not because you're the Queen."

She looked at Elsa as Elsa continued. "It was mother's and father's. Therefore it's ours."

"Deal. Just remember you can come and hide out any time you want."

Anna opened the book, running her fingers down the page it opened to, and gazing at her mother's writings. They'd found one of the missing pages in the wreck of their parents' ship, and the thought saddened Anna.

"Secrets of the Magic Makers…" Maren walked around the table to Elsa's side and tried to get a better look. Anna moved over, pulling Elsa with her, and Maren leaned over it. "Your mother did a good translation, I think, so we'll want to look at what she did in case there's a clue, that will be less work for me."

"If you just focused on translating, how long do you think it'll take you?" Elsa asked.

"Awhile," Maren admitted. "Some of the runes are so old I can barely recognize them."

"I don't know if we have that time." Elsa straightened, folding her arms across her chest. "I'm going to return to Ahtohallan. Maybe I can find some answers there. In the meanwhile, Honeymaren can try to find anything useful in the book or this library."

"Elsa…"

"Anna, it's okay." Elsa squeezed her shoulder. "I don't know if I'll learn anything, but we should try everything. I can also check on the village and see if they want to send their sleepers down to Arendelle."

Maren gently pushed them both out from behind the work table and pulled up a chair. "I'm going to need something to write with and write on." She looked up at Elsa, "Be careful."

"Promise." Elsa leaned down and kissed her cheek, then started for the door.

Anna followed quickly, catching her as the bookshelf swung closed behind them. "Elsa…"

"Anna, I won't be gone long."

"I know, just … think before you do it."

"Before I do what?"

Anna smiled. "Pretty much anything and everything."

?

Elsa pushed the Nokk harder than was strictly necessary, but she'd not yet discovered the upper limit of either herself, or the spirit.

To the east, the sun had seemed to stall in the sky behind dark clouds, giving the world a greyish cast. The air was chilly, for late summer, though hardly frozen over. The sun _barely moving_ was of more concern and whatever was happening to the people of Arendelle and the Forest had to be related.

A thick, achingly familiar fog had settled in the forest by the time Elsa rode into the village. She swung off the Nokk; taking a quick head count of the people up and about as she rushed into the goahti that Ryder had been left in.

It was almost full, and Elsa's hand shot to her mouth; Yelana was among those sleeping.

"Elsa." Haladrath tapped her shoulder, and she turned around to face the older woman. "What's the news in Arendelle?"

"The same as here. Queen Anna is turning the castle into a sick ward. She's invited the sick here, though I was hoping there wouldn't be so many."

Haladreth shook her head. "It's a nice suggestion, but I'm afraid of what might happen should more of us fall asleep on the road. With this many people it could take us a week to get there, assuming we get there at all."

Elsa didn't like that answer, but it _was_ the truth and one she'd known when as she'd asked the question. She glanced back into the goahti. "I wish I could do more here, but I need to find answers so I can help everyone."

"The spirits seem quiet." Haladreth gave her a tired smile as Bruni fell from a tree above and landed on Elsa's head. "Mostly."

Elsa reached up and plucked him from her hair, then carefully let the spirit get comfortable on her shoulder. "I think I want some company this time. I'm going to Ahtohallan to search for answers."

"I don't know if it will be that easy."

"For all I know it's a wild goose chase and I already got all the answers it was willing to give me, but it can't hurt to try." Something deep in Elsa's heart told her that Haladreth was right. "No matter how long it takes or where I have to go, I'll find the solution."

Haladreth stared up at the sky. "I hope you can. The elders couldn't remember anything like either the sleeping sickness or the sun's movements." She looked down at Elsa, then hugged her awkwardly. "In my experience, we usually have to find these things out for ourselves."

"I'm positive the village will be safe in your care until then." Elsa had always thought Haladreth would make a good leader if she let herself.

"If only by default," Haladreth replied.

Elsa summoned the Nokk, smiling at her. "Sometimes the right person finds themself in exactly the right place."

"I'm sure. Is Honeymaren okay?"

"She was busy translating some books when I left," Elsa swung up onto the spirit, making herself comfortable for what was bound to be a long and hard ride. She took Bruni and secured him in her coat.

"You take care of her," Haladreth warned.

"I think she's the one taking care of _me_" Elsa smiled tightly, and nudged the Nokk forward, taking it out of the village and turning towards the North. Part of her wished she could have taken Anna or Maren with her. She'd always wanted to show them Ahtohallan, but the journey was dangerous and Elsa didn't even know if anyone but her would be welcome.

That would be a question she'd have to ask and if she somehow had limited questions it was not worth wasting it.

As they approached the coastline, she prepared herself for the transition from land to water. It was always roughest here, until the dark sea remembered who she was. And then the sea calmed and she flew across it with the wind at her back and water in her veins.

There were days when she couldn't feel the difference between herself and either of those elements. Though she was no longer Queen, she still ruled over the ice and snow, and there could be no snow without water and no blizzards without the wind.

The closer she came to the glacier, the more dead and silent it felt. The sun was a faint point of light behind the clouds and seemed even more motionless from here than it had in the forest. There was no wind as she jumped from the Nokk's back, the only sound her feet crunching in the snow, and then the soft cracking of ice settling as she retraced her steps from the previous year.

Elsa had come here, on occasion, to center herself, but had not gone inside until now. She couldn't say if she was afraid, or what she might have been afraid of. Maybe spoiling some memory, maybe getting an answer to questions she hadn't been ready to ask.

But she was here now, and she had questions.

Her reflection stared back at her as she descended. Soft voices teased at the edge of her consciousness, promising to reveal secrets and explanations, but none of them spoke of unwaking sleep or frozen suns. Elsa mingled with the snowy figures; mostly the same as last time, but many newer memories of the life she'd made for herself in the forest, of Honeymaren, and of Anna as Queen. She paused to watch them share a sandwich before she continued on.

The last drop came up sooner than she was ready for and she hesitated, closing her eyes and listening deeply. "Please, tell me how I can help my people in the Enchanted Forest and in Arendelle. They're my family, and they're in trouble."

There was no answer, her mother's voice silent. Other voices whispered, trying to lure her deeper. But in her heart she knew those were not the questions she was here for or ready to ask. Maybe next time…

Frustrated, she cried out, "Please! Give me _something!_ A hint, anything?"

Her voice echoed off of the ice, bouncing around her as the other voices joined in. An image swirled in front of her, showing her own face. Elsa sighed, then reached out to touch her reflection. "Okay, I get it. You can't have memory of something that hasn't happened yet."

Haladreth was right; some things you had to discover for yourself.

But as she turned to go, a form coalesced out of the ice. Honeymaren, hunched over the book, almost lifted from Elsa's thoughts. "So you're telling me she'll figure out the next step?"

No further answers came and so she quickly moved away, ignoring the voices pleading with her to go deeper deeper _deeper_.

Water might remember, but some questions were _not_ worth drowning for.


	6. Inventory and Sandwiches

There were truly some really creepy things in this book, Maren decided. Myths and legends of terrible creatures, shape-shifters and draugs, and boys no larger than a thumb. One illustration amidst the text was a man screaming, though from what she could tell it had nothing to do with their current problem or even the previous nightmare situation. _That_ she found in the illustration of a large wolf; the Nattmara Elsa had mentioned.

_Nightmare_, but taken the form of a wolf.

Honeymaren wondered at that, and if maybe there was in fact something literal to this problem. At first, she'd thought to translate page by page, but quickly realized that was both tedious and time consuming.

She flipped through the book again, using string to mark the places she wanted to go back and inspect further, scanning for words or images that might be relevant. Only then did she go back and translate those pages.

Anna came in, setting a sweet smelling drink on the table and then leaning against one of the bookshelves. "Any luck?"

"I've found a dozen or so sections that might be of use." Maren carefully set the book aside and picked up the cup. "How long has Elsa been gone?"

"Three hours."

Maren blinked. Had it really been three hours? It felt like Elsa had just left. "I wish I knew how long it will take her to get there and back."

"I'm just worried she'll go too deep again. And I won't have a way to help her if she does."

"We have to trust Elsa." Maren cradled the cup. "And I want to have answers of our own for her when she comes back."

Anna studied her, then plucked the drink from Maren's hand.

"Hey!"

"When was the last time you ate?"

Maren frowned, darting her eyes as she tried to remember. Which was a bad sign in and of itself so she got up. "I should eat something."

Anna stared at her. "I was gearing up for a fight."

"Elsa sometimes forgets to eat," Maren smiled knowingly.

"Exactly. And I had to make her eat."

"Come on, let's make some sandwiches and once you've got some food in you we can get back to work."

"You sound like my grandmother."

"I'm gonna need the practice for that eventually," Anna declared. "In like forty years. So lots of practice."

"So you expect to practice on me that whole time?"

Anna grinned, expression tired in a way that made Maren wonder when it was the last time she'd taken a break herself. "That's the plan."

"Forgive me if I grandmother you first." Maren pushed Anna into the kitchen and made her sit at a table. Then it was a matter of finding the materials necessary to _make_ a sandwich. "We had a trader up a few months ago and now Yelana is addicted to sandwiches. They're really an amazing invention for herding. Quick and easy to make and easier to eat than meat pies."

Maren's sandwiches were messy and thickly built as she usually intended them to last through a day of herding and as she set one down in front of Anna she thought the Queen's eyes were going to bug out.

"Wow. That's almost as big as the ones Kristoff makes. I figure hauling ice and stuff is hard work, so I'll bet it lasts you all day."

"Usually." Maren smiled, pulling a chair out to sit down across from Anna.

It felt like they were in a calm period between storms, hidden away in this little side-kitchen. Maren watched Anna devour her sandwich in a distinctly unroyal-like manner.

Anna licked her fingers. "That was really good, I'm going to be full for hours." She got a thoughtful look. "You know, there are times I ask myself what Elsa would do. Usually it's stupid things like the festival. But in the spring we had some issues with irrigation. Elsa would have just … magicked a solution. Dug trenches using ice or made some kind of raised aqueduct system out of ice."

That sounded like a great idea in the forest and Maren filed it away to suggest to Elsa later. "But you don't have magic."

"Exactly. And I wanted to do this on my own rather than go running to my sister every time something complicated needs doing. So … I had to figure out another way to fix it. Which meant a lot of reading and research and learning all the farming things that I'm sure Elsa learned years ago."

"What did you do?" Maren asked.

"First, we did a kind of temporary thing. I roped Soyun into using the cattle to dig some trenches to bring water to the fields, then I commissioned the blacksmiths to work with our stonesmith to build an actual aqueduct. It's actually really beautiful, the stonework and the designs carved into it. I wanted scenes of daily life in Arendelle on the south side of the aqueduct, and scenes of the forest, spirits and Elsa on the north side. I kinda liked the symbolism there."

Maren smiled. "I'd like to see it sometime. Has Elsa seen it?"

"Not yet. I planned to show her during the festival, but we all got distracted. Once this crisis is over I'll show you both, promise." Anna tapped her fingers on the table and then got up and walked over to the counter. She picked up some bread, like she was going to start building some kind of sandwich feast, but hesitated.

"What is it?"

"I was thinking of making a bunch of sandwiches. For the people who are helping out with the sleepers… And then I wondered how we were going to feed the sleepers. And then I started to wonder what happens if the baker falls asleep? If the supply lines from the farms breaks down and the fishermen can't fish? What if we need to ration?"

"It sounds to me like you're thinking about the right things," Maren said. "But the volunteers and doctors need to eat too if they're going to be able to keep working, right?"

"Right. But maybe I need to take inventory first…" Anna pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just wanted to do something _nice_ for them."

"Let me help."

"No, no, you've got important work to do." Anna waved her hand, an appreciative smile on her face. "But if you could find Kai and ask him to bring himself and another volunteer for food inventory and feeding the people helping out, that would be great."

"I can do that," Maren promised, getting up and finding something to wrap the rest of her meal in. It was going to be a long day, after all.

?

Inventory took nearly an hour, and that was just the castle alone; Anna needed to draw up contingency and rationing plans for the kingdom as a whole, which had been yet-another-thing on her list of potential disaster responses.

Anna was _really_ regretting procrastinating on those things today.

"I want to set aside money from the treasury to compensate people if we need to commandeer stock from their shops." She flipped through a ledger, feeling guilty about her sandwich that afternoon, "Hopefully it won't come to that if we're careful in how much we all eat."

She'd just have to pass her next share to someone else to make up for it. "Have we been able to get the sleepers to eat or drink _anything?_."

"With some effort we've been able to get them to drink a little water," the doctor said. A plump, blonde woman, she was leaning against the wall, arms folded. "It's all automatic. But there's no way to get anything solid into them."

"That's good! That's something!" Anna flipped the ledger closed. "What about uh.. Food stock? Chicken stock or soup or something? It's not solid food but it could keep people from starving to death, Doctor Engberg."

"It could be a start," She said, eyes downcast. "There's another method I read about. However it is very controversial."

"For keeping them from wasting away?" Anna shook her head, "Tell me."

"It involves creating a solution of sodium, chloride and bicarbonate, and injecting it into the bloodstream. Cholera patients showed immediate improvement in terms of their strength and virility."

Anna stared at her, trying to process and visualize it. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of stabbing people with needles and tubes, but she liked the idea of them dying from wasting away even less. "It really works?"

"Not in everyone, but it worked well enough that I'm bringing the idea up."

"Why haven't we heard of such a thing before?" Kai asked.

"Most doctors still subscribe to the idea of leeches and mercury," Engberg explained. "I've never tried it myself but the results speak for themselves."

Anna swallowed as both of them looked at her. She was Queen, this was her call and she couldn't ask what Elsa would do. She had to ask herself what _she_ would do. "Pick … pick three patients and try it with them. If they show improvement we'll expand to the others and teach volunteers how to help you out. Just in case you get afflicted too. But I want to keep trying to get food stock down while we're at it."

"Of course, your majesty." Engberg bowed her head, "Kai, I'll need help preparing the solution."

Anna nodded at him, making a note to see if she could figure out a way to get this idea to the Northuldra, assuming they didn't already have their own solution. "Go ahead."

She turned and walked quickly through the castle, until she found the man she was looking for. "General!"

General Mattias greeted her with a bow and a friendly smile. "Your Majesty, how can I help you?"

"How are the guards and soldiers doing? Are many affected?"

His expression turned grim. "We've lost 1/8th so far. I've been keeping them in the barracks to allow more citizens to be cared for in the castle."

"Good. I mean bad, but good idea, you know what I mean. It kind of seems like it's slowed down. Less people are falling asleep but … people are still falling asleep." Anna gripped her ledger tighter, "Halima?"

"She's all right, so far."

"Definitely good." Anna closed her eyes a moment, then opened then and nodded, mostly to herself. "We need to spread a message through the kingdom again. No one is to be alone, I want people in pairs or groups twenty-four seven. That way people won't be alone if they fall asleep."

"I'll see to it immediately."

"That goes for you too, Mattias."

"I know just who to task with keeping an eye on me. And what of Your Majesty?"

Anna frowned. "I was thinking Olaf, but I haven't seen him in a few hours. In the meantime I'll either be with Honeymaren or running back and forth like a headless chicken between the ballroom and other places, so I won't be alone at all."

"If I see him around I'll send him your way."

"Thank you."

Mattias bowed, "If you'll excuse me, I've got your orders to fulfill."

She hugged him. "Of course."

Anna liked Mattias, and not just because he had all kinds of stories about her father's childhood. He was a good man and she trusted him with her life and her kingdom. Plus, he was _really_ cute around Halima. Which just went to prove that love could blossom even after thirty-four years.

"Okay. Right." She took off at a fast clip, intent to head back into the castle, though she slowed as she realized the clouds had begun to part, revealing the numerous stars high above. The sun had set, without ever actually really rising, which was something that only happened at the height of winter. As Anna stared up at the sky she wondered when - or if - it would next rise.

?

Elsa couldn't tell how much time had passed while she was inside the glacier, but the sun was gone, the stars twinkling serenely overhead. It was almost too peaceful for how urgent the situation was. Still, she let herself have a moment of hoping Anna was looking at the same stars right now. She only wished she had a better answer for her.

The Nokk was waiting for her where the water met the ice, and she ran her hand along its flank, freezing him before she mounted. "The forest first, my friend, and then Arendelle."

They reared up, before dashing across the sea. Elsa closed her eyes, too worried to really enjoy it and trusting in the Nokk to take them to the forest; usually she reveled in the wonder and excitement of how quickly they moved and how freeing it truly was but there were other matters pressing on her mind.

Who else had succumbed by now? Elsa was afraid it would increase exponentially and by the time she got back home or to Arendelle there'd be no one left. If Anna or Maren joined Kristoff, she didn't know _what_ she'd do.

While focusing on such terrible possibilities was the exact opposite of useful or productive it was generally impossible to tell her mind that and have it actually listen, so by the time she'd reached the forest Elsa was _kind_ of a nervous wreck.

She dismounted, rushing into the village. Several large bonfires were burning, with heavy pots over them. A few voices greeted her and she slowed her pace, forcing herself to calmly enter the sick structure. A quick count told her there was one more patient, which was _bad_ but certainly much better than she'd feared. Maybe whatever it was had spread as far as it was going to. Maybe that meant they had more time before everyone fell asleep, though that did little to help those already asleep. Elsa made eye contact with Haladreth.

"Come in. Close the door."

"How long was I gone? It's hard to tell the passage of time in Ahtohallan."

"Most of the day, though it wasn't much of a day." Haladreth hadn't bothered to get up, instead stretching her legs out. "We've been taking shifts in caring for them."

"What's cooking in the pots?"

"Medicines and food. They can't eat, but they can drink, and I wanted enough stock on hand to keep them from wasting away."

"Very good thinking." Hopefully Anna had had the same thought.

"Find anything?" Haladreth kept her tone neutral, but Elsa could sense a kernal of hope there.

"Yes, and no. No direct answer, anyway," Elsa replied. "But I'm positive Maren will find what we need. I saw her, there. And then we'll follow that path wherever it takes us."

It wasn't much, but it was _something_, and Elsa hoped that gave them the hope they needed.

Haladreth seemed to think the same thing. "Very well."

"Need anything, before I go?"

"Ice," Haladreth said. "Lots of ice. Easier to give them water that way."

Now _that_ was a service she'd be able to provide. "I'll convert my goahti into an ice box."

"Thank you."

Thinking that Maren wouldn't mind, Elsa moved her things into Maren's goahti before she filled her own with a solid block of ice. She regarded it for a moment, before snapping her fingers. Cracks formed in the ice, spreading until her goahti was filled with small cubes, perfect for sucking on without risk of choking someone. She then created a way for Haladreth and the others to retrieve the ice without it all pouring out. With her permafrost magic carefully applied to the goahti and not the ice, it would keep it perpetually cool while still allowing it to melt in the mouth.

With one last look around, Elsa leapt onto the Nokk and sped from the forest. The journey back to Arendelle was a blur across still waters and before she knew it she was riding into the castle.

Olaf's tree was still up, and tents and canopies were set up throughout the castle square, and there were a few dozen people milling about. Some of them waved, and she returned the gesture with a reassuring smile. If she had to guess, they were people with loved ones in the castle, and made a note to suggest setting up tents and canopies for them, assuming Anna hadn't thought of it already.

As she walked towards the doors, she spied soldiers coming into the square, carrying rolled up canvas. Smiling, she wiped at one of her eyes. "Oh Anna, you're so good at this."

The inside of the castle was a lot more chaotic of a scene than the outside. Boxes and crates were stacked in every corner and against many walls. Elsa opened a few of them; clothing and blankets, dried foodstuffs and cans. It was as though Arendelle were preparing itself for a prolonged siege, which wasn't entirely off the mark.

"Anna!" She closed the lid on one of the crates she was looking at and rushed after her sister.

"Elsa!" Anna caught her in a bear-hug tight enough to knock the breath from her lungs and Elsa had to tap Anna's shoulder to get her to loosen her grip. "Oops. Sorry. How did it go? What's the situation in the forest? Did you find any answers?"

Elsa had a dozen questions about Arendelle that she had to remind herself were _Anna's_ questions to solve, so she tabled them for the time being. "Not here, where's Maren?"

"Last I checked she was neck deep in translations." Taking Elsa's hand, she started to pull her, but Elsa stopped her.

"Wait."

Anna looked back at her curiously.

"Before I forget, I wanted to do something." She held up her hand to show Anna ice cubes. "Something to help with keeping the sleepers hydrated. Probably a lot easier than trying to pour water into their mouths."

"You're a genius! I'll have Kai find a place for you to magic up a big ice block."

"Great. _Now_ lets go see Honeymaren."

Not even bothering to give Elsa any warning, Anna dragged her through the castle and to the library, slowing down only long enough to make sure there was no one around to notice the secret doorway. It was much as Elsa had left it, the library unchanged except for a small stack of papers next to Maren and the remains of a sandwich on one corner of the desk.

Elsa hung back a moment, since Maren hadn't noticed their entrance. Her hair hung completely loose around her face and it looked like she'd barely moved from her spot. She had her chin on her fist as she traced a line of runes with the fingers on her other hand, then picked up a pen and wrote something down.

Anna's elbow nudged her out of her reverie and Elsa started. "Oof."

Maren looked up, her face lighting up, "Elsa!"

For three whole seconds Elsa allowed herself to box up the problems outside the secret library and focus entirely on that beautiful face. Then the reality crashed back down on her and she stepped forward. "Yelana is afflicted now, too, and none of the elders had any answers. Haladreth is in charge and there were five people including Ryder who were asleep when I left. They were otherwise doing as well as they can be under the circumstances."

"Oh. Uh." Maren rubbed at her eyes, "Thank you."

"So what did you find?" Anna asked.

Elsa sighed. "That there's an answer, but it wasn't there."

Anna looked crestfallen. "Why did I think it was going to be easy?"

"It's not hopeless," Elsa said. She walked behind Maren and put her hands on her shoulders, blinking at how tense they were. Almost instinctively, she squeezed, and then pressed her thumbs into Maren's back.

"Then what-_oh_." Maren's head fell forward, thunking on the book.

"I tried to get her to take breaks," Anna said.

Muffled, Maren protested, "I took a break."

"Yeah, one, like six hours ago when I dragged you out of here for a sandwich."

"I saw," Elsa said, smiling at Anna's surprise. "In the … never mind. While I didn't find the direct answer, I know where we _can_ find the answer."

She looked down at Maren. "And it's somewhere in Maren's translations."

Maren rolled her shoulders under Elsa's hands, which only prompted Elsa to work harder at the knots, an act that was quickly turning Maren into some sort of goo. Elsa's mind wandered just a little. If things weren't so serious...

"Do you guys want to be alone?" Anna asked.

Elsa pulled her hands away, heat building on her face. "Why don't we let Maren fill us in on what she's found?"

Maren lifted her head, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "There were a couple of passages that jumped right out at me once I'd read then. One was kind of hard to translate, with some words that I could only describe as _concepts_."

Elsa picked up Maren's plate and set it aside so she could sit on the table. Maren looked her up and down. "Balance comes up frequently. Balance between the spirits, between each element and between man and nature."

"And balance between all of the above?" Elsa asked.

"Basically, there was a rune that was all of that at the same time." Maren picked up a piece of paper and held it out to Elsa.

The rune resembled a five pointed star, with multiple outlines. Elsa peered at it, feeling as though she was supposed to understand it, but its meaning eluded her. "So … something is out of balance? I thought I was supposed to bring balance..."

"You are, you are," Maren assured her, taking her hand. "But the Enchanted Forest isn't the only place with magic, and the spirits there not the only spirits. There's one more thing I found that I think is related."

Anna came closer, taking Elsa's other hand. "What might that be."

"Completion. Or complete. Or maybe _wholeness_."

"Well, I can say I almost feel complete right now," Anna yawned. "If Kristoff and Olaf were here…"

"I know exactly how you feel, Sis." Elsa leaned in and nuzzled Anna. It _was_ the truth, and Elsa was determined to get her family back together and whole, before she lost anyone else.

Anna looked frustrated. "Is there anything about like, a location, a direction, a person, some kind of herbal remedy?"

"That's what I was working on when you walked in and started disturbing me," Maren said.

"Oh!" Elsa let go of her hand. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should go and let you get back to work."

"No, I mean…" Maren rubbed at her eyes again, yawning. "I was teasing you."

"I was going to leave you two and do some Queenly things," Anna said. "But maybe we should all get some rest."

Maren looked down at the book, then up at Elsa. "I think she's right, I've read this same passage six times. I think I've read more today than I have in my entire life."

Elsa was immediately torn between the very real truth that they were all exhausted, and the very real fact that they needed to find a solution as soon as possible. She folded her arms across her chest, as another thought came to her.

What if they didn't wake up?

There was no actual reason to expect that regular sleep and this magical sleep were connected but that didn't stop Elsa's mind from leaping to that conclusion. "What if we don't wake up?"

"That's…" Anna frowned. "That's a risk we're going to have to take, I guess. We'll all be useless if we're dead on our feet."

She started to pull her hair out of its braid. "Oh, by the way, we're on a buddy system now. Royal decree. So the two of you need to stick together." She twirled her finger at them, before departing from the secret library.

Elsa pursed her lips as the bookshelf closed, leaving them alone in the hidden library.

"She's been handling the crisis really well," Maren said.

"I'm proud of her." Elsa's gaze fell to the floor, "It's just still really strange, the way our lives are now. I always knew she'd make a good queen, but seeing it in action makes me feel - I don't want to say regretful, or sad, because that's not entirely true."

"Wistful, maybe?"

"Wistful … yes." Elsa held out her hand. "Anyway, it seems that by royal decree, we must take a nap. I think my bedroom is still free."

"Just a few hours." Maren took Elsa's hand.

Elsa didn't actually remember how they'd gotten to her bedroom or how they'd managed to make it into the bed before passing out, only that Maren's head was in the crook of her neck when Elsa woke.

She sighed, trying to wipe away the sleep crud in her eyes without actually disturbing Honeymaren. Maren was very warm, and from what Elsa could tell she had a habit of cuddling up in her sleep.

This wasn't an unwelcome thing.

It was still dark out, very little light coming in through the window, which reminded Elsa of the state of affairs. Reluctantly, she shook Maren. "Maren? We've slept long enough."

Maren's hand moved to Elsa's hip before sliding up her side, making Elsa's eyes flutter closed as a wave of warmth spread through her. She shook Maren again, this time harder, only for Maren to roll over and bury her face in her chest, a protesting sound deep in her throat and her hand now at the small of Elsa's back.

Any other morning and Elsa would have been content enough to lay here with her, holding and being held. Any other morning, and Elsa just might have given in to curiosity.

"Maren? Maren! _Honey_, wake up!"

Maren stirred, finally, murmuring Elsa's name before stiffening and _slowly_ lifting her head to stare into Elsa's eyes.

"Hi," Elsa whispered.

"Hi…" Maren yanked her hand off of Elsa's back like she was avoiding a snake, rolling away and then completely off of the bed, taking the blanket with her to land in a tangled mess.

Elsa crawled to the edge of the bed and peered down at Maren, laughing, "Are you okay?"

"I've been better."

Smiling, Elsa slid out of bed, stretching her arms over her head. She caught Maren staring at her in the mirror. "Why don't we see if we can't sneak something to eat and return to the library and find the answer I _know_ you'll find."

"You have a lot of confidence in me."

Elsa leaned over, helping Maren up. "Because you deserve that confidence."

"Is this the kind of pressure you were always under?" Maren picked up her boots, sitting on the bed to pull them on.

"Kind of." Elsa tucked some hair behind her ear, wanting to be 100% selfish and indulgent for once in her life.

_Any_ other morning...


	7. Home is Behind

The runes really had begun blurring together, and the few hours sleep that Maren had managed to get had helped. It wasn't as much as she'd _needed_, but it was _enough_ because Elsa was counting on her to point her in the right direction.

The problem was, she wasn't sure exactly what some of the runes actually meant. At least she was mostly sure she was on the right track but if she was wrong even a little bit, she could send them east instead of west or north instead of south, or vice-versa.

"Here." Elsa placed a glass of water and a small plate of cheese next to her.

Maren lifted her eyes from the book to Elsa's pretty face. "Elsa, you know we're supposed to stay together."

"I figured a few minutes to get you something to eat and drink was worth the risk."

"That was … probably a good idea, but next time we go together."

"All right." Elsa settled into the plush chair she'd dragged in earlier that morning, pulling her legs up underneath her body and getting comfortable with another book from the hidden library.

Maren shook her head.

"What?"

"You look comfortable."

Elsa flushed. "I just really liked this chair, okay?"

"Maybe you should take it back to the forest after all this is over." Maren winked, then returned her attention to her translations.

"Then I'd have to move it every time the village moved," Elsa pointed out. "Too much of a hassle."

They had always moved around, packing up their goahti and transporting them through the forest, even before the mist had settled. Wanting Elsa to at least have something of Arendelle, Maren decided to let the idea bounce around in Elsa's head for later. "I have to say, I'm really impressed by how quickly you adapted."

"Pardon?"

Maren underlined a rune, leaning closer as she realized there was a pattern to the words. "Having seen the castle a few times now, I realized that living in the Forest is a different kind of experience."

"Different doesn't mean bad or lesser," Elsa said. "I … I really like it. I don't miss much, besides my sister and … okay there's my favorite pillow and blanket."

"Mmhm…" The pattern was suddenly clear to Maren's eyes; it was like a compass, the runes being each cardinal direction.

North, and west, and on the next page a sketch of an island that seemed to be on fire. The runes on that page told the story of an angry demon who caused the earth to shake and the air itself to burn.

As the story went, the demon eventually quieted, and life returned to the island. The point was that the element of fire had grown too strong, causing chaos on the island and elsewhere around the world, causing the sky to grow dark and people near the island to mysteriously die.

Had the fire demon returned? If nothing else, it was the best lead she'd found. The next few pages were a different story about fire; an ancient sea voyage to restore a heart, and maybe one day she'd translate that one.

For now, she swallowed, listened to her gut, and called out. "Elsa, I think I found something."

Elsa was at Maren's side almost as fast as she could blink. "What is it?"

Maren pointed at the pages. "The words aren't arranged traditionally. They're in a code or pattern, very similar to the directions on a compass. Somewhere to the North and West of Arendelle is an island. According to the story, a demon or spirit of fire and air burned it when the elements became out of balance. The skies went dark and many people died mysteriously in their sleep."

"So … I have to go to this island and tame this spirit."

"I don't know," Maren admitted. "But my gut says this is _our_ best chance."

"Maren-"

"I'm going with you." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop then. Maren wasn't particularly enamoured with the idea of putting herself in danger, but she was more than willing to face it if she had to and the thought of letting Elsa go alone felt like being stabbed in the chest. Ryder would be okay in the care of Haladreth and their people; who would watch out for Elsa?

Elsa cupped Maren's cheeks. "I wasn't going to ask you to stay. I'm going to need help on this one."

"Help on what?"

Maren could see Anna over Elsa's shoulder, just before Elsa turned around. "Anna, we know where to go. Maybe not entirely what to do yet, but at least there's a direction. An island."

"Oh thank god." Anna rushed in and hugged Elsa. "There's a fishing boat currently not being used I think."

"Great! We wouldn't be able to operate a full sized ship with just us."

"…Us?" Anna looked surprised, and then pained. "Elsa. I … I _can't_."

"What?" Elsa took a step back. "You don't want to go?"

"Of _course_ I want to go!" Anna took her hands. "But what I want and what is right isn't always the same thing."

"I don't understand."

"Elsa, I _know_ you understand. Arendelle needs me _here_." Anna pressed one of Elsa's hands against her chest as Elsa's shoulders slumped and she sagged back against the worktable.

Maren placed a hand on Elsa's back, hoping to offer some kind of reassurance or comfort.

"You need to be here to watch after the people," Elsa said softly. "To guide them through this and search for other ways to help in case we fail. Just like … we never would have freed the Enchanted Forest if we'd gone to Ahtohallan together."

"I'll hold the fort," Anna promised "There's so much to do, and I've come up with contingencies for my contigencies, but … If I leave, I fear the people will lose hope. Knowing you're out there, I can keep that hope going."

Elsa leaned forward, hugging Anna. "I'm proud of you."

"I learned from the best. Of course you abdicate and leave me to be the queen of paperwork." Anna laughed.

Maren picked the book up, looking down at the sketch. "I'm going to make a copy of these pages and a few other pages I think will be relevant. I'll leave the rest I translated behind for you to see if there's anything worth pursuing."

"Okay. I'll have the boat ready by tomorrow morning," Anna promised. "You'll both want to be well rested."

?

Olaf, it turned out, had been walking through the kingdom trying to find anyone who might have fallen asleep alone. He'd marked the doors and buildings so that soldiers could come and get them; Elsa couldn't be more proud, though Anna beat her to both the hug and praise.

"I was so worried about you, and there you go, saving six people, Olaf!"

"Samantha helped," he said snuggling into first Anna's arms, and then Elsa's when Elsa joined her sister in hugging him. She looked over his head and mouthed _who's Samantha?_.

Anna shrugged, mouthing back, _I don't know._ Out loud, she said, "I'll make sure Samantha gets a medal too."

"I'm getting a medal?"

"You totally are." Anna made a subtle twirling motion with her hands, and Elsa quickly conjured up a glowing blue medal.

Anna took it, and fixed it on Olaf's chest, right above his heart. "There you go! When we have time, I'll make sure you get a real one."

Olaf fingered the medal, then looked up at them. "I like this one, it's real enough for me."

Elsa blinked her eyes, fighting off a wave of emotion. "Well, ice or gold, whichever you choose, you've earned it."

"Your Majesties." Kai appeared near Honeymaren's left side, "the boat is ready."

"Boat?" Olaf hopped out of Anna's arms, "I better pack my swim trunks…"

"Olaf," Elsa laughed, catching him with a snow flurry before he got too far. "Anna is staying to take care of the kingdom, and I need _you_ to stay and take care of her."

He looked between them, sadness in his eyes. "You're really not going together? But you always go together." His gaze focused on Elsa and he planted his twiggy hands on his hips. "You can't make us stay!"

"I'm—"

Anna held up her hand, and knelt in front of Olaf. Elsa blinked at the blatantly royal dismissal, conflicted as to how it made her feel. But that was something to worry about later, so she deferred to Anna.

"It was my choice, Olaf." Anna adjusted one of the twigs on his head, "Arendelle needs me. We're in a crisis and I can't just leave our people without a leader."

"That sounds like character growth," Olaf commented. His anger seemed to have abated, "But then who will watch out for Elsa?"

"I will." Honeymaren said.

"And we've got the Nokk," Elsa added. "At least, for a time. I don't actually know how far it can go from the Forest."

"I found you a Captain for the boat," Anna interjected.

"Anna, I don't know if—"

"Do you know how to sail?"

"I've read about it in a book?"

"You need a Captain."

Elsa stuck her tongue out at her sister. "Fine."

"So let me get this straight," Olaf said, placing both of his hands on Elsa's shoulders. "You're going to run off on another quest filled with terror and mortal danger, on a boat, in the ocean where your parents died, with a girl who didn't see the ocean until last year _and_ a person that you've never met?"

"Uhm."

"And there's no telling how long you'll be gone or if there'll be anyone still awake to greet you when you get back because we all shuffled off this mortal coil leaving you all alone in the world?"

Elsa hadn't actually thought about that, but now that Olaf said it she couldn't get her mind off of the thought. Losing Anna, losing her friends. Being the only one left…

Anna cleared her throat. "Olaf, you're going to cause her to panic and we don't need an eternal winter right now. Or ever."

"I'm okay." Elsa rubbed her chest, "He just … reminded me what the stakes are."

Maren knelt next to them, patting Olaf on the head. "I'll bring her home, even if I have to carry her."

Elsa slipped her arm around Maren, finding her presence calming. "We'll be fine. We'll fix this and restore balance or wholeness, or whatever that means."

"Come on." Anna held her hands out for them, "I should introduce you to the Captain. He was overseeing the loading of the boat. I'm not actually sure how many supplies you need…"

"The people here are more important than us," Elsa insisted. She let Anna pull her back up.

"Keeping people from starving to death while they're trying to save the rest of us is really important."

Conceding the point, Elsa let Anna lead them out of the castle and towards the docks. Arendelle's navy was small; besides fishing boats and a few other small vessels, they had a grand total of 3 tall ships. There were two impressive warships and the even larger Queen's ship.

Elsa stared at the latter as they passed it. She'd only ever sailed on it twice, and even if Anna had offered its use she'd have turned it down. Thirty souls had been lost with their parents and Elsa wanted to minimize the risk to other people as much as feasibly possible.

At the end of one pier rested a schooner. About 60 feet long, the _Bridger_ was bigger than she'd expected, old, but well cared for. At least, it _looked_ seaworthy. And here she thought they were just taking a little fishing boat.

A middle-aged man with warm, tawny skin strutted down the gangplank, his arms wide open, dreadlocks bouncing off of his shoulders. His right eye had a scar across it, hidden by a patch, and he was dressed in a colorful red jacket and trousers."Queen Anna, my friend! It is very good to see you! And your friends, too!"

"Elsa, this is Captain Ohnaka. Captain, this is my sister Elsa and our friend Honeymaren. Olaf you've already met."

Olaf tossed off a smart salute, which the Captain immediately returned. At least, he _tried_ and Elsa wondered just how sober this man was. She turned towards Anna, eyes wide and eyebrows raised.

Anna shrugged back, giving Elsa a helpless gesture that she took to mean 'this is the best we got.'

Elsa affected her royal face, and inclined her head. "Captain. A pleasure to meet you."

"Ah! The pleasure is mine." He gave them both a sweeping bow, then took her hand, kissing it charmingly, "To finally meet the beautiful former Queen of Arendelle! And, I must say, you certainly seem warmer than the stories."

"I'm sorry?" Was she supposed to be offended? She wanted to be offended.

"I will tell you them once we are underway!" He clapped his hands together, "Oh! Where are my manners."

He leaned over the edge of the dock and shouted. "Come out here you salty dogs and present yourselves to our beautiful employers!"

There was the sound of scrambling boots, and then someone skidded down the plank and came to a stop next to the Captain. The woman looked like a younger version of Ohnaka, minus the eye-patch, and her jacket was a dark maroon. She'd dyed her hair almost like a rainbow.

"This is my daughter and first mate, Tyra." He clapped an enthusiastic hand on her shoulder, while Tyra seemed to be more interested in studying Elsa intently. "And … where is that old dog?"

"I'm comin', I'm comin' you old coot." A short, stocky woman clambered down to the dock, a pipe in her mouth.

"Ah! There you are!" Ohnaka slapped the woman on the back, "This is my old friend, Sam. She has been sailing with me since our days—" Tyra elbowed him, and he amended, "Since our days exchanging goods for very specific services."

"Anna," Elsa leaned in and whispered, "Did you hire _pirates?!_"

"Pirates?!" Ohnaka clapped his hand on his knee, laughing nervously. "Wherever would you get such an idea? No no no, we traded goods for very specific services. Iron and steel, specifically. For gold."

A little embarrassed at being overheard, Elsa said. "I'm sure you had a very good … trade, in your day. And I'm grateful you agreed to take us on our journey." She eyed the other two, "Though I hadn't thought there'd be more than us. This is very dangerous."

"Don't worry, sweetheart," Tyra said, folding her arms and giving Elsa a look that was borderline inappropriate. "For enough coin we'll volunteer for anything. Though I can think of some _alternate_ compensation."

Elsa pursed her lips, but felt someone grab her arm before she could say or do something she'd regret.

"Oh, you're spoken for." Tyra shrugged, "Fair enough, though you'll know where to find me." She winked, then walked back up onto the ship.

Elsa stared after her, then glanced to her left to see it had been Maren. Maren was still glaring at Tyra's back. "I don't like her."

"Thank you for holding me back." She had no idea what she'd have _done_, but Tyra had gotten under her skin, and quickly.

"Well, that was something," Ohnaka said. He held up his finger. "We sail in an hour!"

?

Throwing Tyra overboard would be a very mean thing to do, but Maren really, really didn't like her. She wouldn't go so far as _hate_ — she'd never met anyone she'd hated — but she didn't like the looks she kept giving Elsa. So she made sure to stick close to her friend as Arendelle slowly dwindled in the distance.

Leaning on the railing next to Elsa, Maren studied her face. "It will be fine."

Elsa sighed and leaned against her. "How are you holding up?"

"A little queasy," Maren admitted. She was already farther from home than she'd ever been in her life, and they were still on the fjord. But they wouldn't be for much longer.

It was actually kind of terrifying. Almost as terrifying as the way she felt when Elsa put her arm around her. She closed her eyes. "You're going to make the first mate think things."

"Let her," Elsa murmured. "It might be easier on us."

Maren turned to face her, "You know, we should … talk about…" She trailed off as she caught a figure walking across the deck. Or rather, riding across the deck on a _reindeer_.

Captain Ohnaka caught sight of it too, staring as Olaf and Sven strode past him, the snowman wearing a makeshift pirate hat and Sven wearing an eyepatch. Ohnaka looked at the bottle in his hand, made to throw it into the sea, stopped himself and fumbled the bottle but managed to catch it before it went overboard. He chuckled to himself, knocked back the entire thing, and_ then_ tossed the bottle aside. "Waste not, want not."

"You mean talk about…" Elsa frowned, then turned to see what had distracted Maren. "_Olaf_?! What are you _doing here_?!"

"We thought that Anna already had so many people to watch over her," Olaf explained. He patted Sven's head, "And poor Sven here has been so worried about Kristoff that he just needed to, you know, do something, so he volunteered!"

"I can feel his grief from here," Ohnaka said, clutching at his chest. "Oh, how it resonates! For such a thing, I will _not_ throw you overboard for stowing away. No, no no, I have a much better idea."

He pointed at Sven. "You there, man the crow's nest!"

"We're all going to die," Maren whispered.


	8. The World Ahead

The sky was clear, not even a cloud on the horizon and with the ship's lanterns off, the world was lit by the stars, both high above and also reflected in a calm sea. Maren leaned on the railing, watching as the bow cut through the water. It reminded her of spring and summer nights near the forest that she'd spend with Elsa skygazing.

She could hear Sven snoring nearby, and really should be sleeping. But her dreams had been difficult to deal with and so she'd left Elsa below.

"The sky isn't awake, so why are you awake?" Olaf asked, plopping down on the railing next to her.

"I have no idea, though it's hard to tell if this is night night or day night," she admitted. Except, she _did_. It was _Elsa_. She couldn't stop thinking about her. Even when she was thinking about their quest and her translations and her anxiety that she'd somehow done it all wrong, she was thinking about Elsa. At least, disappointing Elsa in that.

"Me neither." He wiggled his feet, sighing. "I think Elsa was mad I stowed away."

"She specifically asked you not to come."

"I know, but sometimes you do things for love that in hindsight aren't the best ideas."

"That's…" Maren nodded, "Very true. I've made a few dumb decisions involving my brother."

"Still love, though. That's family, doing stupid things for love!"

Maren smiled. "Like go off sailing into unknown lands on a ship captained by an ex-pirate?"

"Yep! You know, Elsa thinks you're family."

"That's … Really?"

"Yeah! I heard her tell Anna once that the first time she saw you she knew she wanted to get to know you better."

Maren felt dizzy. "I think we've gotten to know each other very well…" And every time they seemed poised to take it a step further _something_ got in the way. Maren tried not to think that was some kind of sign.

"What about you? Is Elsa family?"

"I … yes." Maren put her hand on his head. "The first time I saw her, I was _enthralled_. She was _beautiful_. She's always beautiful, even when she's covered in mud and sweat."

Maybe there was another word for the way Elsa looked when she was covered in mud and sweat but that was not for young snowmen to know. "More I got to know her, the more I liked her. She's … I guess you could say she's my best friend."

"More than your brother?"

"Almost. Yes. Maybe." Maren shrugged.

Olaf sighed again, this time happily, "Best friends are the best kind of love, you know? Anna and Elsa are best friends, but so are Kristoff and Anna! But those are different kinds of love. What kind of best friend do you want Elsa to be?"

Maren snapped her mind away from memories of Elsa after working out. "Uhm. I guess you're right. Elsa would be a different kind of best friend from Ryder." She wrapped her arms around her chest. "I think it's up to her, and I'll accept however it is she feels about me."

"Why?"

"You can't _make_ someone love you, Olaf. It would be wrong and bad. But I've got a good feeling about Elsa." Either that or she was completely misinterpreting Elsa's signals. Which was entirely possible and pretty much the entire reason she kept hesitating.

"Love is complicated, isn't it."

"It really is." Maren stepped away from the railing, "But it also seems kind of selfish to think about this at a time like this."

"It's still love." Olaf swiveled his head around to look at her, "Right? Going out on an adventure of derring do to help everyone back home where we might all die horribly in Davy Jones's locker. But if we focus on that all the time we won't be able to do anything because we'd be all frozen with fear. So it's good to think about other things, especially when they're good things."

"Thank you, Olaf." Maren smiled, marveling at getting perspective from an enchanted snowman.

She turned to head down below, hearing Olaf mutter to himself, "What does Mr. Jones even keep in his locker?"

Maren didn't know the saying herself, so she had no answer for him. Carefully, she made her way down the stairs and into the cabin. The Captain, of course, had his own, and Tyra and Sam shared another. The third appeared to have been converted from some kind of closet. There was enough room for single bunk and a hammock. While, technically, the hammock was hers and she had every intention of stringing one up back home, her eyes fell to the woman asleep in the bunk.

Elsa lay on her side, mouth open as she breathed softly in her sleep, a little bit of drool glistening at the corner of her mouth. Maren stifled a laugh.

There was a small blanket on her shoulders, barely enough for one person, let alone two, but Maren pulled it back anyway and snuggled in against Elsa. Elsa pulled close, burying her face in Maren's chest and murmuring sleepy nonsense.

?

In the two days since Elsa had sailed away, Anna had come to a number of conclusions. First of all, she was pretty certain that Olaf had snuck off with her. What she didn't know was if Elsa had changed her mind or if he'd stowed away. Anna would have stowed away in the past, so that was _probably_ what happened. It helped that Kai confirmed he'd last seen Olaf heading towards the docks with Sven.

Which answered the question of where the reindeer had gone.

Secondly, she missed the sun, and the warmth on her face and was absolutely terrified of what could happen if it didn't come back soon. What was going to happen to the crops in the field? Was it too soon to harvest them now? Would it be too late if they waited; either for lack of people to do so or for the crops themselves.

If they lost the harvest Arendelle would be in deep trouble whether or not Elsa woke everyone up.

They could, perhaps, rely on trade, and Anna scribbled down some ideas on that front on one of the many notepads she'd been going through since the crisis started. She was discovering she had a head for numbers and details that she hadn't realized she was capable of before. Anna had always thought that was Elsa's forte, and it made her feel a little closer to her sister despite the distance between them.

Well, that could wait a little bit, too. Anna strode into the ballroom, picking up a washbasin and cloth and made her way over to where Kristoff was laying. He didn't look too bad, still peacefully sleeping. Kristoff was young, and strong, and so he wasn't a high priority for the injections yet, a fact that tore at Anna's heart. But she trusted in the doctor to decide what was best for everyone; and there was an understandable calculus in making sure the children and elderly were seen to first, and then the healthy young adults last.

The solution was working, though. Anna just hoped they could make enough to go around.

Sitting on a stool next to her fiancé, Anna stroked his cheek, then gently pulled down the blankets. Young, and strong, yes, but she could see that the lack of nutrition was starting to affect him. "You'd be so embarrassed if you could see yourself now."

Anna started to wash him. "I'm going to send a letter to Elsa after I'm done here, honey. Just to give her our current status. She's been gone a little under two days, and … there's no telling how far away that island is. She could be there already, or she could still be on the way."

Ohnaka had said _Bridger_ could average 10 knots, 12 with a good wind. Anna had had to look up what a knot was and how many miles that translated to. Assuming they hadn't changed speed much, they'd already be well over four hundred miles away.

"I _know_ Elsa and Honeymaren will figure this out. Elsa's the fifth spirit, and Honeymaren is super smart and brave." Anna smiled, just thinking about them. "Hopefully once everything is back to normal they'll, like, realize how much they like each other. Elsa deserves someone like her and God but I could use something like that to focus on after all of this. You know. Teasing her about it, setting them up on dates … oh! Double dates!"

Anna laughed. "Could you imagine? I'm marrying you, a mountain man, and Elsa found a Northuldra woman, like father did. I wonder what they'd say about it."

"I think they would be happy for you both, Your Majesty."

Kai's voice about started her out of her skin. She sheepishly finished up washing Kristoff. "Do you really think so?"

"Your father married his childhood friend, an orphan of no known noble blood," he said. "In Arendelle, love has always been as important as, if not _more_ important, than political considerations. At times that may have cost us allies, but I believe it made us stronger as a people."

"Wasn't there a story about one of my ancestors?" Anna fixed the blanket back into place, kissed Kristoff on the forehead, and stood. She gestured for Kai to walk with her.

"Queen Annelisse." Kai nodded. "She turned down a powerful king in order to marry a common sailor. We very nearly went to war with them a number of times after that."

"Sounds like they haven't really forgiven us." Anna made a note to look the story up, just in case she needed to deal with _that_ crisis.

"No. But she was happy, and because she was happy she served Arendelle better."

"I feel like you've got a point here," Anna raised her eyebrows at him.

"The point is, your mother and father would want to see you happy." He stopped in front of the doors to the library, looking momentarily uncertain. "It was … strange at first. Your sister abdicating. Not that I thought you were not capable, but that it was happening at all. But Elsa is happy, and her choice was best for her, you _and_ the kingdom. Because you are where you need to be to be yourselves, and that benefits everyone."

"I was terrified," Anna admitted. "I still am. Especially now. But when I shut that part of my brain off and just _be_ the Queen I need to be, it works. It just _works_. I know I've made mistakes and I'll make more, but I feel like I'm where I was born to be. It's just I always thought this was where Elsa was born to be."

"I think we were all wrong, Your Majesty."

"I don't know what we'd do without you, Kai." She gave him a quick hug, "Thank you."

"Of course." He bowed his head.

Anna poked him lightly in the shoulder. "And because I care about you, get some sleep, I think you've slept less than I have."

"Is that an order, Majesty?"

"Yes. Go to sleep and wake back up to keep helping me stay sane."

?

The first day, Elsa had watched how the sailors actually worked. She understood the basics from both books and watching Arendelle's sailors on her two voyages, even if she'd never applied them personally but it would be different to actually _do_ it. The second day, she'd tried to help out as best she could, though she'd quickly discovered it was hard to keep up with the crew.

Tyra moved through the rigging like she'd been born there, swinging between the two masts with no apparent care for gravity. She tried not to watch her too often, because it would give the woman _ideas_. It was just hard to avoid watching her.

She sighed, changing her focus to where Sam and the Captain were laughing near the wheel while trying to explain to Olaf how the rudder worked. Sam was about as nimble as Tyra, if a bit gruff, but Elsa kind of liked her. She was refreshing in a blunt sort of way. The Captain still kind of eluded her and she was half-certain he was actually insane. But he knew how to navigate and sail a ship, and if there was one benefit to an eternal night it was having the stars permanently to be guided by.

Even so, Ohnaka wasn't sure how long the trip would take. The territory was uncharted, in a sea known for danger and lost ships.

Tyra suddenly appeared in front of her, hanging upside down from a rope. "They say there are ghost ships. Sailing aimlessly, filled with lost souls. They say that they're searching for the lost."

"Lucky for me, I'm found," Elsa replied, folding her arms and giving Tyra a steady look.

Poking Elsa in the nose, Tyra grinned in amusement. "Everyone gets lost now and again, beautiful. We find ourselves in new and different ways every day of our lives. Who I am today ain't always who I am tomorrow, but just an evolution. A growth."

Reluctantly, Elsa had to agree. "You might be right, but some discoveries are bigger than others."

"Ain't they just…"

"Elsa," Maren said, hugging her with one arm as she gave Tyra a pointed look. "Why don't you come help me prepare supper down below."

"Of course." Elsa took Maren's hand and followed her below decks. The galley was barely large enough to be called one, but it served _Bridger_ well enough. Once she was sure Tyra hadn't followed them, she laughed. "Thank you. I can never tell with her what she's thinking."

Maren looked down at their joined hands, and her thumb rubbed pleasantly at Elsa's skin. "What I want to say is really unkind, so instead I'll just let you know I'll watch your back."

"You really don't like being unkind." Elsa adjusted her grip, lacing her fingers through Maren's, and wondering if this was some kind of jealousy..

"I don't like it, no." She looked up into Elsa's eyes, "I don't want to be the kind of person who gets angry over stupid things, or jealous—"

Elsa heard the foot steps at the same time Maren did, but Maren was faster, pulling Elsa with her until she was pinned between Elsa and a bulkhead. Her fingers threaded into Elsa's hair and her lips were suddenly so close she could almost taste them.

"Whoops." Sam's voice reminded her of where they were, "Sorry 'bout that ladies, carry on."

Sam's footsteps retreated back the way she'd come, but Elsa couldn't look away from Maren's eyes.

"Sorry," Maren whispered. "I thought it was Tyra and I wanted to … help."

Elsa quirked an eyebrow, and Maren shivered against her. Slowly, reluctantly she pulled back. "God, I can't take this anymore."

Grabbing Maren's hand, she pulled her through the ship until they reached the captain's cabin. She stepped inside and locked the door behind them. "This is the only place with a lock on this ship and maybe we can get a chance to talk before something else happens."

Maren stared at her, then covered her mouth as she laughed. "It sure seems like the phrase 'we need to talk' is a prompt to be interrupted, doesn't it."

Elsa listened, but no one came to the door and the sounds outside the ship were unchanged. She let out a breath, watching as Maren wandered around the cabin curiously. Ohnaka had a large oak desk near the ear window, with elaborately carved cabinets and bookshelves on all walls. It seemed as though he'd collected a life-time's worth of knick-knacks and souvenirs, and her eyes fell on part of a black flag peeking out from behind a chest.

But she probably only had enough time to either talk to Maren _or_ snoop, and snooping would be rude, even if she _did_ want to confirm Anna had in fact hired pirates. Or ex-pirates. It didn't really matter, Elsa believed that everyone deserved second chances and so far Ohnaka hadn't done anything that was of concern. They were sailing in the right direction, at least.

Maren decided for them both, coming over and taking Elsa's hands. "I really like you, Elsa. And I don't mean that in a friend way. Not entirely a friend way. But I like you as a friend!" She held her hands up, "I don't want you thinking that I don't. Like you. As a friend I mean."

She dropped her hands, staring down at the floor.

"Oh Maren…" They were both really bad at this. Elsa took her hands and lifted them both to her lips. Maren looked up at her, and Elsa was certain she probably didn't need to say it out loud for Maren to understand. But she was just as certain that saying it out loud would make it all _real_ and maybe it needed to be said out loud.

Seizing the surge of confidence, she whispered, "I danced for you. I wouldn't have danced for anyone else, not even Anna. But I danced for _you_."

"I can't stop looking at you. I want to touch you all the time, see you all the time, talk to you all the time," Maren blurted.

"There's a snowstorm in my stomach right now." Elsa let go of one of Maren's hands so she could cup her cheek and look into her eyes. "And it's been there for months. And I just tried to ignore it because I really like you too. Your friendship means so much to me that I don't want to lose that. I … and I … you're just … I don't really know what I'm doing. Anna's the romantic in the family."

Maren pulled Elsa's hand to _her_ lips, the softness of them making Elsa's heart race. "And you think 'I danced for you' isn't romantic? Cuddling beneath a starlit sky? Holding baby reindeer with me?"

"Well, uhm…" Elsa turned her head away from the intensity in Maren's eyes, her confidence wavering but the horse already long gone from the barn. "So do you want. Should we. Is there an 'us' now?"

"Elsa, if you don't kiss me I might actually explode."

A laugh escaped her, and she looked at Maren again, tracing her cheek with her thumb. Elsa leaned her head down, hesitating just before their lips met. But there was no knocking at the door, no footsteps, the captain not stumbling drunkenly through the ship only to ram face first into his own door.

Maren's breath misted between them as she waited for Elsa to close the distance, to leave the choice in her hands. Tentatively, sweetly and softly, Elsa kissed her. A feeling like rain on a spring day gripped Elsa's heart even as Maren's lips made her skin feel like it was on fire.

"_Oh_," she gasped, before Maren stole her breath away.


	9. Love Songs

Night and day had pretty much lost all meaning, only the moon marking the passage of time. Elsa wished Anna was here; astronomy was her sister's forte and she might be able to help Elsa understand better what hour of the day it was so she didn't have to keep asking the captain about his pocket watch. As it was, Olaf had practically attached himself to Ohnaka's boots.

Elsa frowned, then groaned and rubbed her head. "Of course!"

"Of course, what?" Honeymaren asked, peering down at her from where she was perched on a mast. She was almost close enough to kiss, though as badly as Elsa wanted to she wasn't inclined to do so where the crew could see and comment on it.

Besides, she had a project! Holding up a finger, Elsa traced a circle with her other hand, and a pocket watch materialized out of ice and air. She caught it, and wound the little knob until it started to run. "Now I just need to see Ohnaka's one more time so I can set mine."

"Anna once showed me one of those, and took it apart for me. All the little gears were pretty, but I still can't believe you can just … make a working machine like that."

"When I was six," Elsa said, wrapping the chain on her new watch around her waist and securing it. "I took apart my father's watch. He wasn't even that mad, and showed me how to put it back together again."

She smiled, looking down at it. "I know for a fact the same thing happened with Anna."

"Did you two often dismantle things?"

"Yes." A heavy sigh distracted Elsa, and she peeked under a canvas to see Sven laying there, looking absolutely depressed. Slowly, she sat next to him and pulled his head into her lap so she could stroke his head. Looking up to admire Maren, she added, "Though I think I was more the construct to Anna's destruct."

Sven followed Elsa's line of sight and snorted.

Elsa whispered. "Don't give me that look, Sven." Though she didn't actually look away.

She tried to imagine what Sven might actually say right now, but she didn't have the same connection to him that Kristoff had. With Bruni and the other spirits she could interpret what they wanted, but not directly speak for them.

Her mind flashed back to the nightmares and the blight. Sven had eventually gotten sick, turning pale as snow and falling into a restless slumber. No animals had been afflicted by this new sickness, which was a relief.

Kristoff had been worried half to death, like a piece of his soul had been taken out of reach for him. Elsa stroked under Sven's chin and imagined that right now, he felt exactly the same way, cast adrift from his person. It wasn't too far a leap for her; with Anna hundreds of miles away, she understood.

But Anna was awake, as far as she knew, and therefore she was safe.

Running her fingers through Sven's fur, Elsa hummed a few notes from an old saga. Music, she knew, wove the disparate threads of the world together, as universal a concept as math and storytelling. The Northuldra had songs, and Arendelle too, and Elsa had always felt tethered to song.

And if it made her feel better, it might help Sven.

So she sang for him, a soft, haunting melody, romantic and hopeful in a way that Anna might have appreciated, and yet with an undercurrent of tragedy; in the old sagas, the hero usually died.

Sven dozed, a normal sleep rather than an enchanted one, and Elsa lifted her eyes to find Maren gazing down at her with a soft expression on her face. Elsa shifted slightly, embarrassed. "What?"

"I wish you sang more often."

"I do. I'm just usually … alone."

"You could sing around me, all the time" she offered and Elsa didn't try to hide her smile.

"Come down here, and maybe I will."

Maren grabbed onto a rope, swinging down from the rigging and landing gracefully near Elsa. She walked over, sitting down next to Elsa. Elsa sought out Maren's hand with her own, gently closing her fingers around Maren's.

Leaning against Elsa, Maren asked, "What kind of song will you sing for me?"

Elsa kissed the nearest part of Maren to her, which turned out to be her ear, and even though it as just her ear, she felt a little thrill at being able to do that. Her voice was so quiet against Maren's ear that she wasn't sure if she could be heard. "What do you want to hear?"

Maren's fingers squeezed hers. "Do you … maybe know a love song?"

"A love song?" Nervously, Elsa tried to think of a song. She'd heard a few _bawdy_ ones in the tavern, but she would need a few mugs of that ale stuff before she'd sing one of _those_.

"You don't have to if it makes you uncomfortable." Maren brushed her lips against Elsa's cheek.

"No, it's okay, it's okay. We're so close to land, I can almost feel it. We don't know what tomorrow will bring, so … let's enjoy the moment while we can."

Maren caught her off guard, tugging her face over and kissing her. Elsa closed her eyes and hoped this _never_ got old. Not the taste of Maren's lips, or the warmth of her skin or the quiet little moan that sometimes escaped her throat.

That was a kind of music too, wasn't it? Elsa wondered what it was about a starlit sky that made her think about music.

She broke the kiss, touching her forehead to Maren's, and started to sing.

?

There was clearly some kind of universal law, that when something could go wrong, anything and everything did.

In the past twelve hours (at least, according to father's pocket watch which had always run just a little slow after Anna had taken it apart that one time), they had filled the other two ballrooms and with the exception of her room, Elsa's and Kai's, every _other_ available room in the castle.

The baker had just been brought in, and Anna had conscripted a number of grandmothers to man the castle's ovens. If she could keep everyone who was still awake _fed_ they could maybe get through this. She was just starting to get a little nervous about the odds.

"Your Majesty!"

She turned at her title, and then smiled when she saw Soyun rushing towards her. Originally from Chatho, far to the east, Soyun was the best cattle caller in the kingdom, and Anna considered her a friend. "Soyun! Please tell me there's good news?"

Soyun shook her head, her expression crestfallen. "I had to open the fences and let the cattle roam free."

Anna frowned, and then hugged her. "I'm sorry. But at least this way they'll be able to fend for themselves? And not be stuck behind the fences with no way to get to food and water if you … you know."

"Join the great nap-off?"

"Yeah, that thing. In the meantime, want to help me bake? We're trying to make a little stockpile for the next week."

"Have you been able to contact your sister?" Soyun looked up at her worriedly as she fell into step next to her.

"No." Anna's lips were a thin line, "I tried, but Gale just couldn't reach her, or find her. I don't know if that's because the ocean is too big or she's too far away from the Enchanted Forest."

Worse, Elsa could be asleep, and then there was the fourth option. Neither thing was something Anna wanted to think about right now and preferably never.

"Your Majesty." A stately elderly woman named Beru greeted them at the kitchen. "I told you already, we have all the hands we need."

"But—"

"Now shoo!"

Soyun snickered as the door was practically shut on Anna's face. "So how many times have you tried to help them?"

"That was the third." Anna sighed. She should probably give up on the idea, but she felt really restless and unsure of herself right now. For the most part, all the volunteers were running things smoothly, even if, at last count, roughly a third of the Kingdom was unconscious.

Anna wasn't sure how many more people could fall ill before Arendelle collapsed. "I think I need to get a first hand look at the state of my kingdom. Would you like to join me?"

"Of course."

Anna quickly saddled up Havski, her favorite horse in the royal stables, while Soyun picked out a beautiful horse with a black and white striped tale, named Fjøra. For just a moment, Anna flashed back to times riding with her sister; Elsa had always preferred Fjøra.

She shook herself out of it with a silent prayer that her sister was okay. If nothing else, even if Arendelle fell and they never woke up again, she wanted Elsa to be okay.

There weren't too many people out. Those that were had the kind of smiles that told Anna they were putting on a brave face, but she did get the impression they really appreciated seeing her out and checking up on things.

As Soyun had said, the cattle and most other livestock had been let free. They could deal with the damage to flower beds and home gardens after the crisis was past, and Anna tried not to think about the possibility of wolves.

There were a few farmers and soldiers in the fields, too, harvesting what they could. It left an icy feeling in her chest, harvesting this early, but without the sun…

Trying to lighten her own mood as they swung around to ride back to the city, she commented to Soyun. "You know, I thought I'd be jealous or resentful that I'm here in Arendelle while Elsa is off on a grand romantic adventure. But … I _belong_ here, right now. And I knew it almost as soon as all this started."

"I think that if you had gone with her, we'd have a harder time of it, Your Majesty." Soyun smiled reassuringly. "You've always been so open and friendly with all of us, which believe me is appreciated. But what's appreciated more is your kindness, and a steady strength."

She waved her hand. "Not that Elsa isn't strong!"

"I know what you meant." Anna smiled at her and reached over to poke her shoulder, "And thank you."

"…wait, what did you mean by 'romantic adventure?'"

"Sailing off into adventure with a retired pirate and a beautiful woman that you can't stop staring at?" Anna grinned mischievously. "What can be more romantic than that?"

"I'll take your word for it, but I assume you will pester her for the details when she comes home."

Anna nudged her horse into a canter, "You bet I will!"

"Anna, what is that?" Soyun pointed out towards the fjord.

"Uhm." Anna looked, trying to see what Soyun was trying to show her. Against the stars and in the light of the moon, she could make out sails. Three ships had sailed into a position at the entrance to the fjord.

She couldn't make out from here what flags they were flying, but what was obvious was that it looked like some kind of _blockade_.

?

"What time is it," Elsa murmured. Maren lay with Elsa's face against her neck, their bodies intertwined in the bunk about as close as they could get while still wearing clothing.

Her hand traced circles on Elsa's hip. "I don't know…" Maren didn't want to move, just yet. She kissed the top of Elsa's head, smiling as Elsa looked up at her. "I don't think I've told you yet how beautiful you are."

Elsa smiled, face pink. "I probably look like a mess. You're the beautiful one." She scooted up, gently kissing Maren and Maren's mind scrambled like eggs. Time ceased having meaning, there was only Elsa's body pressing into her own and Elsa's mouth meeting hers.

Maren pushed Elsa onto her back, laying half on top of her and moaning into her mouth as Elsa kissed her harder. Her hand stroked Elsa's hip and thigh, digging into the thin fabric. Fingers tangling in Maren's hair, Elsa hooked a leg around hers as Maren felt one of Elsa's hands rub experimentally at her chest.

If Maren had ever wanted to know what being struck by lightning felt like, she had her answer.

She caressed up Elsa's side, savoring the little smiley sigh against her lips, grinning into the kiss. Elsa dropped her hand to Maren's waist, sliding her fingers under the hem of her tunic and then slowly inching up further.

Okay so maybe _that_ was actually being struck by lightning, she thought with a gasp.

Suddenly desperate to feel Elsa's skin under her hand, Maren moved it up, brushing her palm over Elsa's left breast in the process and making Elsa shudder against her and moan in a way not unlike when she ate chocolate.

Brain scrambling for a second time, Maren traced Elsa's collar bone with one finger, then trailed her hand to her shoulder and up the side of her neck. Breathing became a secondary concern, Elsa's name a mantra in her mind because her lips were otherwise occupied.

Elsa's hand was cold, but not in an unpleasant way. It seemed to warm the longer it touched her skin and Maren pressed into it as it drew ever closer to her breast. So slow, it was almost frustrating, but Maren would never dream of rushing Elsa in anything, especially this kind of intimacy.

"Whatcha doing?"

Maren squeaked, flailing back so fast that she knocked her head on a wooden column and promptly fell off the bunk and onto the deck.

Olaf leaned over and stared at her. "And now you're upside down."

"Maren!" Elsa exclaimed, from somewhere above where Maren lay. She appeared in her field of view, holding the blanket across her chest and looking simultaneously radiant and ravished.

"The concussion is worth it." Maren rubbed her head, unable to tear her eyes from Elsa. Either her head was spinning or the ship was rocking more than usual.

"Olaf," Elsa said, breathlessly. "What are you … Just … whatever you saw, I'll explain when you're older."

She dropped the blanket and crawled off the bunk, kneeling down to help Maren up. "Are you all right?"

"I'll be okay." Maren leaned against her even after she was on her feet, closing her eyes until she felt steady. It did nothing for the heat that burned through her, though. When she opened them Elsa was staring at her in a way that told her the feeling was mutual. She kissed her, lightly and quickly. "Can you, uhm. Cool us down?"

An arctic blast shot through the cabin. Maren shivered. It was a little much, but she was going to accept Elsa's wisdom on that one. "Thanks…"

Olaf looked between them. "Okay so, reindeer wrestling aside, you better come up on deck. Sam won't wake up."

Elsa groaned in dismay, pausing long enough to take Maren's hand before they made their way onto the deck. It was overcast, the stars and moon hidden under angry looking clouds, and the water was whitecapped.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Maren wanted nothing more than to wrap an arm around Elsa's waist and not let go, but she had to resist the urge. At least for now.

Sam had been propped up against some barrels on deck, Tyra nearby tying ropes to the masts. Elsa approached Sam, and she shook her head. "She's definitely afflicted. But we're so far _away_."

"Knew we shoulda tossed you overboard," Tyra said, in a way that left Maren unsure if she was joking. "But the Queen didn't pay us up front."

Good for Anna.

"If there's a storm coming," Elsa said. "We might want to get her below decks."

Tyra nodded, suddenly all serious. "Think you can help?"

"I've got this," Maren said, moving to one side of Sam and lifting her up. Casually, she tossed her onto her shoulder and grinned at the look on Elsa's face. "I'll be right back. Olaf, come with me!"

"Sven, go with them too!" Elsa called out.

Maren had lifted heavier, Sam was no Reindeer, but she was still awkward to maneuver without slamming her head into things. It took several minutes to get her down below and strapped into a bunk.

"Okay, listen very carefully to me," Maren said, looking at Olaf. "Your job is to keep an eye on Samantha, okay? Make sure nothing hits her, and stay below and out of the storm. That goes for both of you."

Olaf saluted. "Yes, ma'am!"

Maren checked and then triple checked the knots she'd used, and once she was satisfied that Sam was secure and Elsa's snow-son wouldn't wash away, she ran back upstairs and onto the deck. In the intervening minutes the waves had gotten taller.

"How close are we to land?" Elsa was asking.

"Less than a day." Tyra slid down a railing, tossing Maren a rope. "Tie yourself down."

"That's good," Elsa said. It was growing harder and harder to hear her over the wind.

Lightning flashed overhead.

From the helm Ohnaka shouted, "Do not worry! I have sailed through greater storms than this! Just … maybe a little nap, first."

"What?!" Elsa vaulted up the stairs, reaching the wheel just before Ohnaka collapsed. She caught him in a snowdrift and grabbed onto the wheel as it started to spin out of control. The ship swung hard to starboard, sending Maren skidding across the deck and slamming into the railing. Struggling to catch her breath, Maren silently thanked Tyra for the rope.

Ohnaka started to slide towards the stern. Elsa froze him to the deck while trying to hold the wheel steady. Tyra reached her, and together they tried to right _Bridger_'s course.

"_FUCK_!" Elsa screamed as the ship crashed through a wave and then plummeted into the trough.

Honeymaren gripped the railing, screaming wordlessly as she felt like she was going weightless. The waves were so _tall_, and she cast a look at Elsa, remembering the fate of her parents. Like Maren, she was soaked through, her dress clinging to her body like a second skin.

There was fear in Elsa's eyes, and she gripped the wheel so hard her knuckles were whiter than her dress. Then, she seemed to push the fear back as her expression was replaced with determination.

_Bridger_ pushed through another wave, a wall of water nearly tearing Maren loose. She thought she saw something in the water, when the lightning flashed, just before the whole ship shook like it had struck a rock.

She looked over the edge, seeing a gash in the hull and water pouring in. A crack formed in the deck nearby and started to spread.

"I got this!" Tyra bellowed.

Elsa let go, running and jumping onto the deck. She threw a blast of ice onto the crack in the deck and then joined Maren at the railing. Holding her hand out, she patched the hull breach. "Maren … get away from the railing!"

Maren nodded, gathering up the slack in her rope as she rushed for the mast. When she realized Elsa hadn't followed her, she turned around just in time to watch Elsa dive into the water.


	10. Fathomless Depths

"General!" Anna took the steps up to the wall two at a time and was barely winded by the time she reached him.

"They're blockading us," he said, holding out a spyglass.

"Who?" Anna peered through it, glad the night was clear and the moon was out. Even so, she could barely make out the flags. "You've got to be kidding me."

The Southern Isles had sent two ships; one was a little smaller than Anna's royal ship that Elsa had named _Grace_ when she'd had it built, but the other was some kind of Ship of the Line. She looked at the third ship, roughly in between the two in size and guns. "The Southern Isles and Feronda? Seriously?"

"Feronda has always had thorny relations with Arendelle," Mattias mused. "I guess some things never change."

"Things change all the time, less thorny would have been nice…"

Anna looked towards the dock and the three ships moored there. There was activity on all three, and she looked through the glass. She could just make out Melinda, the Admiral of Arendelle's navy, on the deck of _Grace_. Anna could trust her not to take action without orders, but she was glad to see that the ships would be ready if she needed them.

"Your Majesty, there's a fourth ship."

"Oh no." Anna swiveled around, locating the ship and then adjusting the glass. In the moonlight she saw the flag atop the mast first; the emblazoned sun of Corona.

Her heart sank. Corona too? They were one of Arendelle's best allies, and oldest. Anna recalled something about some marriage centuries ago. She was at a loss as to what to do, or how to respond to this. Yes, she'd closed the borders, but that had been Arendelle's choice. To have not one, but three nations—

"Hold on … the lead Isles ship is signaling the Coronans." She could see the flashes of the lanterns.

"You know signaling?"

"You read a lot when the gates are closed and you have no friends," Anna commented. She started to bounce on the balls of her feet. "Corona is bringing us food and supplies! But the big ship is telling them to turn around."

Mattias leaned on the edge of the wall, staring at the ships. "This isn't going to end well."

A flash of light, larger than the signals, erupted from the deck of the biggest ship. A moment later, thunder rumbled across the still waters of the fjord. There was a second warning shot, and then the Coronan ship turned away. Gradually, it disappeared into the night, and Anna lowered her spy glass. Her eyes were a little blurry. "I can't believe this is happening! They could let that ship in. We could offload supplies with little boats or rig up a rope system, or something. Honestly if they're this close they're probably already going to be affected and so it doesn't matter anymore."

"I'm not Navy, but three against one aren't the best odds."

"I think I'm going to check with the Admiral," Anna decided. "She'll be more familiar with those ships and … there's got to be a strategy…"

She trailed off as movement caught her eye. Almost immediately she lifted the spyglass again. The Coronan ship had returned, and it was moving _fast_, at full sail, charging for a gap between the Faroden ship and the smaller Isles vessel. "They're running the blockade!"

There was an indeterminate time between when the ship was fully in view and when the blockade started to fire. Flashes of light all across the water, thunder booming like they were in the middle of a storm. Despite the ship's speed, enough cannonballs found their mark to slow the Coronan ship down. Fire spread across the deck and up the sails as it drifted into the fjord.

Horrified, Anna stared as the ship came to a halt. She waited thirty seconds, with no sign the blockade was going to move in to help the sailors fleeing from the burning ship. Unable to wait any longer, Anna shouted at Mattias to gather some soldiers, and then bolted down the wall, and down through the castle grounds and out the gates. She rushed for the docks, for her ship.

The Admiral greeted her with a grim look on her face. "Your Majesty."

The ship was already ready to go. She stared at the dark-skinned woman, "How did you know I'd need you?"

"I had a feeling it might come to this as soon as I saw those ships. They're _well_ within our waters."

"They've violated our sovereignty and sank the ship of one of our oldest allies," Anna agreed. "But right now those people in the water need our help. General Mattias will be here shortly with soldiers to help."

"They might be handy in a boarding action, if it comes to that." She looked past Anna and nodded as Mattias boarded with a dozen soldiers. "Okay good, as soon as the Queen has disembarked we'll—"

"Sail now, and that's an order."

Melinda raised an eyebrow, but didn't try to fight her. She turned on her heel, shouting orders in a strong, clear voice. "Release the moorings and take us out. Have the rest of our fleet ready to follow if signaled. Make it nice and slow, we wouldn't want to spook the bastards."

Anna made sure she was out of the way, watching as the crew got to work. She had too many thoughts, anyway. "We're weak. We don't have an ice queen any more, though Elsa is usually close enough, but they don't realize that. So they think, there's another queen in three years. Young. Inexperienced. No magic."

"Magic makes people nervous," Mattias said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Until they understand it, at least. And a magic queen? Few rulers would be comfortable with that idea."

"Magic is beautiful," Anna whispered. "If only they really knew."

But this was a test. A test of Arendelle, a test of _her_. "Admiral?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"We can't let this stand." She pointed at the ships, "If we let them get away with this, the whole world will see us as weak and unable to protect ourselves. They'll think we can't handle our own borders. Those countries might even claim the waters they're in right now are no longer ours."

"That big ship, I know her. _Seawolf_. She's got forty guns and she's the most powerful ship in the north. She's going to be the problem. The other two? _Grace_ could handle one, maybe both with a skilled crew and some luck. But even with the three we have right now, I don't know if we can handle _Seawolf_ and the other two combined."

"Then we need to even the odds," Anna said.

"Admiral!" A sailor shouted, "_Seawolf_ is signaling us to stop or they will fire upon us."

"Seven hells. Tell them we're fishing people out of the water and to cool their heels."

"They're paranoid. Scared."

Melinda nodded at Anna. "That's what makes them dangerous." She turned to yell at the helm. "Don't get too close to that wreck, are you _trying_ to catch our sails on fire?"

While the crew began rescue operations Anna climbed up into the rigging. From there, she had a better view of the fjord, the ships blockading it, and her own little fleet. The fires on the Coronan vessel gave them more light, which was about the only good thing about _that_.

The wreck actually gave her an idea… And if the Admiral could pull this off, Anna might just make her a Duchess.

?

Everyone was counting on her. Every_thing_ counted on her. The ship, Arendelle, the forest, maybe even lands beyond, if this sickness and eternal night had spread.

If the sea claimed her as it had claimed her parents, it would be so much worse than just not returning to Anna.

She barely heard Maren's voice screaming her name before she hit the water, cutting through it like a dolphin. The experience with the Nokk had taught her that the sea was not something to underestimate and with the waves so high she knew she had limited time and energy before she'd be in trouble. At least here she wasn't fighting a spirit of water.

Water was life. Water was _alive_, and Elsa knew she had to face it again or the ship and the people on it would be lost.

She swam down deeper, narrowly avoiding being crushed by _Bridger_ as it crashed through a wave. In the chaos, with the salt burning at her eyes, she could barely see where the damage was. There was a long gash on the port side of the hull and a hole on the bottom of the ship. Anna would have been able to tell her what that part of the ship was called.

Water was pouring through both breaches. Elsa blasted ice at both holes, trying to freeze them over. Her lungs strained, but she pushed through it, missing the ship several times as it bobbed and rocked in the storm. Finally she surfaced, gasping for air. The ship was drifting farther and farther away, listing slightly to port but it looked like her patches were holding.

A wave hit her from behind, pushing her down and tumbling her out of control. When she recovered, she could barely tell which way was up; there was only water, angry, foaming water. Elsa encased her hand in ice and the buoyancy pulled her back to the surface. From there she built a raft and clambered onto it to get her bearings, but the sea was too rough for her to maintain her balance for long. Ramps and platforms were useless, she knew that from experience, so she started to run along the water, trying to weave through the waves.

She just had to get back-

"What!?"

A _presence_ made her lose her balance, just as something huge rose up beneath her. Flailing her arms, Elsa fell to the side and sank into the water, turning around and staring into an eye bigger than Sven's entire body.

Elsa screamed, kicking towards the surface. She gagged on seawater, then twisted around trying to find what that eye had belonged to. A heavy, dark shape sped towards the ship and then crashed into it. Wood all along that side splintered and cracked.

The shape, the _creature_, dove, a long, muscular tail lashing up and destroying what remained of Elsa's ice patches.

"No no no…" Elsa closed her eyes, then inhaled as much air as she could before diving. The sea monster had dove out of range, but if she looked carefully she could see a hazy sort of outline, just like when she tried to see an animal's or person's soul.

This one was dark with age. It felt _ancient_.

Elsa couldn't quite tell what its shape reminded her of; it was like some kind of sea dragon, with a long, thick body, four fins and a crocodile's head. It was easily as long as the ship.

With a whip of its tail, it surged up towards the ship. Towards Honeymaren and Olaf and Sven.

Elsa swam as fast as she could, throwing blast after blast of ice, making spears and arrows to throw, until one lucky shot hit it below the eye. It bellowed, a roar that rattled Elsa's chest and nearly caused her to inhale water.

But she'd gotten its attention; it swerved towards her, snapping its jaws closed right in front of her face. Each of the teeth in its mouth was as long as Elsa's arm. She reached out as it surged past, her hand dragging along a scaley body and suddenly there was _memory_.

Elsa had read many stories about magical things, had met hidden folk who never showed you their tails, was friends with trolls and was herself magic made flesh. In this creature's memories she saw a time before man when there had been only magic and monsters.

This was a creature driven by instinct, swimming the depths for eons, to swim and hunt and mate. And yet there was an intelligence to it, too. Maybe something she could reach for.

Her hand caught on a broken scale from some long ago wound and the monster dragged her down deeper and deeper before arcing back towards the surface and the battered ship. Elsa shook off the memory of that fight, and struggled to hold on.

_Please_ she thought. _Please, we mean you no harm, please leave us be_.

Ice formed along the scale, spreading out from her hand and pushing into the flesh beneath. _Please!_ Its blood pumped from a powerful heart and blood was life, blood was _water_.

And water could freeze.

_I'm sorry!_

It started to corkscrew, to spin and thrash and twist around. A mighty roar shook her loose and Elsa lost sight of the monster and the ship, becoming lost in the waves that beat and bashed at her.

Elsa kicked her legs, trying to right herself, trying to even see which way was up. A wave carried her up as it crested and then she was falling, swinging her arms wildly as she dropped into the trough. She thought she saw, in a flash of lightning, _Bridger_ atop another wave and dangerously close to splitting in half. And then she was drowning again, water crushing her. Something large swam past her and the current dragged her down deeply, so deeply that she knew she had no hope of making it to the surface before she ran out of air.

The dark glow of the monster's essence approached from below and she waited. Exhausted, she waited for its maw to open wide and swallow her whole or tear her limb from limb or worse.

But then she was staring into its eye again and Elsa reached out, grasping onto the armored scales above the eye. It was almost _hypnotising_, the way the eye regarded her with that intelligence she'd sensed earlier.

Elsa thought of Anna, of Maren and Kristoff and Olaf and the others on the ship. _Please, help me_.

She pulled herself higher up its head, slowly, carefully, afraid that at any moment it would snap and bite her in half. But it didn't, it patiently waited until she was on top and then it swam towards the surface. Elsa exhaled the remaining air in her lungs as they approached the surface.

_I'm going to … call you Fornsál._

Fornsál roared as it breached the surface, flying half-way out of the water and then crashing down. Elsa froze her feet to it, attaching thin ropes of ice to either side of the head as she got to her feet. "Hurry!"

She nearly fell back when it surged forward, gripping the reins more tightly and strengthening the ice around her feet. It punched through wave after wave as Elsa searched frantically for the ship in the waves and pounding rain, gripping the ice reins as tightly as she could and praying that the ice at her feet wouldn't break.

After a half-dozen terrifying heartbeats she spotted _Bridger_, half submerged in two pieces barely joined together anymore. It looked hopeless, her heart leaping into her throat. One more wave, just _one_ at the wrong angle and everyone would be lost. Elsa iced the ship over as best she could and shouted Maren's name, but there was no answer from the ship. She tried again, screaming until her throat felt raw.

"Okay," she rasped. "_Okay_. Just get me closer."

While she didn't think Fornsál obeyed so much as acquiesced to her request, the creature did bring her closer and she jumped on board.

Somehow, the wind was raging much more strongly on deck, whipping her hair into her face and Elsa held her hand up to keep the spray out of her eyes. "Maren! Tyra! Olaf!"

Right now she'd be happy just to see _Sven_.

The ship bucked, deck buckling and her emergency ice patches cracking. Elsa ran as fast as she could, vaulting up to the helm. Ohnaka was still iced to the deck and she swore she could hear him snoring over the storm. Freezing the wheel in place to help keep the ship in a straight line, Elsa scoured the deck and rigging, looking for the others. One of the masts had collapsed, and she couldn't see _anyone_.

Refusing to believe that they could have been washed overboard, Elsa slid down the railing and ran below decks. "Maren? Olaf?" She couldn't lose them, couldn't _lose them_, couldn't…

Broken wood, smashed barrels and haphazardly tossed about rope impeded her progress. The water had doused most of the lanterns, leaving only a few flickering lights. With the ice coating the entire ship, it gave the whole scene a surreal look to it. Elsa could almost forget the heaving seas and how close the ship was to breaking apart, staring at the strange beauty of it all.

Over the sound of the storm, she heard a plaintive moan. Sven lay trapped beneath several smashed crates, shielding Sam with his body. "Sven!"

He craned his head at the sound of her voice, and she ducked under a fallen beam to reach him. Sam was still out cold, and she could see Olaf clinging to the woman.

"Sam is still asleep," Olaf reported and Elsa almost laughed in relief.

"Olaf, where's my-Maren? And Tyra?" Elsa tapped her foot on the deck, jutting a column of ice up into the wreckage above Sven, slowly lifting it off of him. Focus on one task at a time, she told herself. One task, one step, keep putting one foot in front of the other and they'd all get out of this alive.

"Tyra went to the Captain's room and Honeymaren went after her."

Sven climbed out from under the debris and Elsa stroked his neck to calm him. "Olaf I'm going to tie Sam to Sven's back, and I need you to keep looking after her for me, okay? I'm going to get Tyra and Maren and then we'll all go above decks together."

As quickly as she could, Elsa got Sam onto Sven's back. She used the ropes to keep her in place, making sure there'd be enough left over for Ohnaka and the others if they were unable to move on their own.

Then she raced through the ship, leaping over flooded gaps in the hull, freezing them along the way. The door to Ohnaka's cabin was blocked by more debris. Elsa leaned over, hands on her knees, staring at the debris and catching her breath. Her muscles ached in ways and places she didn't know existed.

Elsa waved her hand tiredly, freezing the water inside the fallen beams and wreckage. Moving the ice (and consequently the debris) out of the way was simple after that. Pushing herself forward, Elsa pulled the door open. _Maren!_!"

Maren rushed at her, grabbing her by the arms. "Oh Elsa, thank the spirits!"

"We've got to get off the ship," Elsa said, hugging her nowhere near as long as she wanted to but about as long as she felt they had time for. "Tyra?"

"She was trying to rescue some stupid chest."

Elsa looked past Maren to see Tyra trying to drag a chest out of the cabin. "Whatever is in there isn't worth it, the ship won't last much longer."

"The life raft was torn off," Maren said. "What are we going to do?"

"Drown." Tyra hefted the chest up and onto her shoulder, before staggering past them. Elsa shook her head and grabbed hold of Maren's hand before following.

"I have a plan, but I'm going to need you all to trust me. We won't be drowning if I have any say in the matter."

Tyra glanced back over her shoulder. "You know, it was a stupid thing you did, diving in and trying to patch up the ship. Figured you were trying to die a hero." She actually sounded impressed.

"Anna would kill me if I died again."

Tyra barked a laugh. She reached Sven and started to lash the chest to him.

Elsa decided there was no time to argue the cost benefit analysis of that damn chest. "I'll need help getting Ohnaka tied to Sven."

Maren leaned in, whispering loudly in Elsa's ear, "There's no way he can carry all of us, even if the waters were still."

"I know. I'm just trying to keep us all together." Elsa said, hand on Sven's side as she started to guide him to the stairs. "But I've got a plan."

A loud crack punctuated their arrival on deck, and Tyra nearly went overboard trying to reach her father. Elsa raised a wall of ice between Tyra and the railing as Sven slipped and stumbled on the soaked deck.

They'd barely gotten Ohnaka secured when another crack rang out. Wood splintered and ice shattered as the deck beneath Elsa's feet bent and then broke and the sea rushed up to swallow them all.


	11. Master and Commander

The entire time the crew of _Grace_ was pulling sailors out of the water, the blockade remained an eerie presence. It twisted in Anna's gut like a knife, but she focused instead on bringing blankets to help warm up the poor people they were rescuing.

She wrapped one around a sailor who looked far too young for working on a ship, giving him an encouraging smile. "You okay?"

"I am, thank you." He smiled tiredly at her from underneath a mop of wet, dark hair, "We didn't expect them to actually fire on us."

"A lot of unexpected things have been happening lately."

"So we heard, Miss."

Anna had the sneaking suspicion he didn't know who she was which was actually really nice. "How are things in Corona, and elsewhere, do you know?"

"The days got shorter the farther north we sailed, until there wasn't any more daylight. I heard it was sometimes like that, but something about it doesn't feel right."

"You're right, it's not that normal. We get short days in the winter but it's not eternal night." Anna sat next to him, rubbing his back to help get warmth back into his bones. He had to be, what, fifteen? Had she actually ever been that young? She had a hard time believing she was only six or seven years older than him; she felt like she'd lived twenty years in the past four. "What about the sleeping sickness?"

"I overheard the captain talking about it. They hadn't heard of anyone outside Arendelle affected yet, but she didn't sound too certain that would last much longer. We've been at sea long enough that that could have changed."

Suddenly, Anna couldn't be sure how long it had been since the Lutefisk Festival and Kristoff not waking up. A week? Two? Elsa had been gone … two days? Or was it three. She stared up at the sky.

Behind her, she heard the Admiral issuing orders to return to dock.

"Thank you." Patting the boy one more time, Anna turned and jogged over to Melinda.

"Is that everyone?"

"According to the Captain the ship had twenty-six crew. We pulled twenty out of the water. The other six were…" Melinda glanced at the burning hulk. "It could have been a lot worse for them, your Majesty."

"Please tell me Princess Rapunzel wasn't on that ship." Rapunzel was known for taking risks and Anna would not have been surprised to see her among the sailors.

That knife in her gut twisted again, but this time it was _anger_ that surged through her. Anna hadn't felt this angry _ever_. Not even when Elsa had pushed her away after they'd found their parents' ship.

"No."

"Well that's something at least." Six people had _died_ because of that blockade. Six people with families and friends and futures now snuffed out. Anna stared at the fires on the Coronas ship. "Do we have enough people to crew all three of our ships?"

"Barely enough for a normal day. But in a battle? It'll be tough."

Anna looked around the deck. At least a dozen of the crew just looked damp and cold, with minimal injuries. "Maybe we can get some volunteers…"

?

Elsa lay on a rocky beach surrounded by shards of ice. Water lapped at her feet and she groaned as sense started to return. She pushed herself up on her elbows and looked around, trying to see in the darkness. Flashes of lightning from the direction of the ocean provided her some kind of illumination, though the storm seemed content to remain off shore.

In one flash, she saw Sven resting on a hill nearby. In the next, she thought she saw Tyra stumbling towards him.

She had to get up, she _wanted_ to get up, but her body refused to obey and she crashed back down onto her back. Rolling onto her side with a soft groan, she stared out towards the ocean. Lightning illuminated the stormy sea, and she caught a glimpse of a huge, gleaming eye and a dark shape before it dove under the water.

"Elsa! Hey guys, I found her!"

Olaf's voice came from behind her, and she tried to roll around in that direction. A warm arm slipped underneath her back and she was pulled into an equally warm, if damp, lap. Honeymaren's face swam into view and it was honestly the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Elsa just wished she had enough energy to properly hug her. "Hey you."

"I was so worried." Maren leaned down, kissing her forehead.

"What happened?"

"You encased us in a ball of ice." Tyra fell heavily to her knees next to them. She looked exactly as bad as Elsa felt. "Then that … thing out there … I thought it was going to eat is.

"There we were," Olaf said, "bouncing around in the water like a thing that bounces around in the water. And then this big mouth with all these big teeth appears from behind us and cradles us gently in its mouth aaaaaall the way to shore."

"Reminds me of alligators and their babies." Tyra leaned in, checking Elsa for injuries. Elsa was too tired to argue the matter.

"Fornsál," Elsa said. "Her name is Fornsál."

Tyra stared at her. "I'm sorry, what?"

"She was the reason the ship was so badly damaged, I kind of fought her until I convinced her we weren't a threat. Or a meal."

"You tamed a sea-monster and named it." Shaking her head, Tyra pushed herself to her feet. "Of course you did. Is this a spirit thing?"

"I think it's an Elsa thing," Maren said. She looked down at Elsa, "Can you walk? We shouldn't stay on the beach like this, especially if that storm rolls in after us."

"I think so. I'm just so tired."

Maren got up first, then took both of Elsa's hands and helped her up. Wobbling, and with Maren's support, Elsa was able to make it to Sven. "How are they?"

"Sven is okay. The others are still breathing." Tyra checked on her father, and then the straps holding her chest.

Elsa was going to find out what was so important about that chest, but later. Right now, they needed to find shelter and rest. "If we … If we had a sled, Sven could pull Tyra, Sam and the Captain and carry Maren and me on his back. that would be a lot easier for him then trying to carry us all. And a lot less awkward for us."

"Can you magic us up something?"

"I can do the runners and some support structure," Elsa waved her hand. "But it wouldn't be a good idea for you to be sitting or laying on ice for very long. It's magic, but it's still _ice_."

"Well, there's plenty of wreckage from the ship." Tyra rolled her shoulders. "I can find something to put on the runners so we don't get frostbite."

While Tyra took care of that, Elsa turned towards Maren and kissed her soundly on the lips, before giving her a good look over.

"I'm fine … I'm more worried about you." Maren touched Elsa's chin and tipped her face back up. "I can't _believe_ you'd just dive into the water like that! And fight a monster!"

"In my defense I didn't know the monster was there until I was already in the water." Maren's anger was touching, and probably well deserved. Elsa sagged against her. "I'm sorry. I just didn't see any other way of keeping the ship together."

"There probably wasn't, but I'm still angry with you." Hugging her tightly, Maren buried her face into Elsa's shoulder. "I've only known you almost a year and I already don't know what I'd do without you."

"I'm sure you'd find a way, but I really don't want either of us to have to find out." Elsa kissed Maren again, more gently and sweeter this time. It was like giving herself the motivation and energy she needed to get through the next few steps.

The motivation, at least. She closed her eyes, and then created the ice sled. It was similar in design to Kristoff's newest, at least in terms of the runners and frame. But she topped it with a flat slab of ice, something that Tyra could use to put wood over the top.

She stayed clinging to Maren the whole time, even after Tyra returned with what looked like a piece of the deck and some rope. Refusing any help, Tyra secured it to the frame. "They're water logged, but I suppose that can't be helped."

They were _all_ waterlogged and before Elsa really thought about it she was drawing the water out of all of them. Sven's fur and all their clothing and the deck wood. Thousands of tiny ice balls dropped to the ground and then blackness swallowed her.

?

They only really had a short window for Anna's plan to work. Admiral Melinda's plan mostly; despite Anna coming up with the initial idea, she'd deferred to the woman with forty years of experience at sea for the actual planning and implementation.

The key was the burning ship in the bay. While _Grace_ moved into a position near it and kept itself in sight of _Seawolf_, the other two ships, _Isbjorn_ and _Lundefugl_ would use the fjord to cover their approach.

"Steady," Melinda said, her knuckles white on the wheel as the ship picked up speed. "On my mark…"

The tension on the deck was palpable, and Anne gripped the railing as she watched the hulk get closer. It was still burning brightly, which was a relief; she didn't know what they'd do if this didn't work.

"Now!"

Sailors on the port side of the ship tossed out grapples, and two brave volunteers swung out onto the burning ship. They quickly secured chains, Anna's heart in her throat the entire time until they'd returned safely. And just in time, _Grace_ swung hard to port and now sailed straight for _Seawolf_; with a floating fire hazard in tow.

Melinda held the ship stead, her eyes like dark pools as she was framed by the inferno behind her. Anna looked towards the bow again as _Seawolf_ loomed closer and closer. She could see a lot of activity on deck, sailors scrambling as they realized _Grace_ wasn't going to stop.

And then Melinda spun the wheel and shouted an order Anna didn't quite catch; not until the anchor splashed into the water and a few seconds later the entire ship tilted wildly to starboard.

Clinging to the railing, Anna watched in horrified awe as the chain was cut and the Coronan ship continued on a course right for _Seawolf_. Almost at the same time, the port guns of _Grace_ opened fire. The sound was deafening this close, but several shots hit the smaller Isles ship and several more splashed near _Seawolf_.

Additional canon fire announced the arrival of _Isbjorn_ and _Lundefugl_ to the battle, their cannon balls causing extensive damage to the Faronden ship before it could respond. And then everything became the pure chaos of cannon fire and shattering wood. The screams of sailors echoed across the water and Anna felt bile rise in her throat as her eyes burned not from smoke but from the sickening realization that people were dying for her and _because_ of her.

For Queen Anna of Arendelle.

There was no _romance_ in this. The songs and stories had _lied_! This was horror and terror and blood in a cacophony of death.

Anna hadn't started this, and she searched her mind for something else she could have done, something that wasn't sending her people to kill and die. And yet, as the cannon fire started to die down, she could think of nothing else. They _had_ to break the blockade and not just for their ally's lost ship.

If her sister was going to have a home to return to, in Arendelle and among the Northuldra, Anna knew the country would not survive both the sleeping sickness _and_ the rest of the world coming to pick their bones clean. She knew that part of being Queen was defending her people. That didn't mean she had to like the reality of it.

But she couldn't afford a break down right now, no matter how badly she just wanted to curl up in her sister's arms and bawl until her eyes were scratchy and dry.

Someone yanked her away from the railing just before a stray cannonball struck where she'd been standing. Anna hit the deck hard, jarring her shoulder. She felt a sharp pain in her side, and reached down to feel something warm and sticky. "Oh. Shit."

The cabin boy from the Coronan ship pushed himself up and then rolled her over to inspect her. "You're hurt!"

"I'd be worse without you, thanks." A flash of light from the fires and she realized he was also hurt, a bandage wrapped around his head and over one eye. "Are _you_ okay?!"

"No time to sit out." He helped her to her feet and guided her towards the loblolly boys. "Besides, my girl back home has a thing for eyepatches, so this is a win win."

A cry rose up from the ships as the burning ship crashed into _Seawolf_, which almost immediately caught fire. Her crew started to abandon ship, diving into the sea to escape the flames.

Enemy or friend, no sailor relished the idea of a burning ship. Anna stumbled away from the cabin boy. "Admiral, we can't let those people stay in the water!"

Whether or not they were enemies, they were still people and they deserved to live.

?

When Elsa came to, she bit back a sound as her entire body protested its very existence. She felt burned out, a husk, like a ship a day after a fire. Despite that, she forced herself to sit up.

She was in a small room, a lantern overhead casting a cheerful light. Maren was dozing next to her, but she saw no sign of the others. They must have found people. A town. Before she could get out of bed, Maren's arm snaked around her waist. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I need to…" Elsa shrugged, "I don't know."

"The others are safe. Ohnaka and Sam are in a room, Olaf is exploring the town with Sven and I don't actually know where Tyra is and right now I don't really care. You need rest." Maren gently tugged Elsa back down onto the admittedly comfortable bed. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow she was out again.

The next time she woke up, she felt a lot better. Still sore, but no longer like she'd dug a hole to the very bottom of her soul. Turning her head, she saw Maren enter the room carrying a bowl. When she realized Elsa was awake, Maren's face lit up. "You look much better. But you need to eat."

"How long has it been?"

"Two days since the beach." Maren sat in Elsa's lap, though Elsa had the suspicion it was primarily to keep her in bed.

"We need to get moving," Elsa said, even as her efforts to push Maren off failed miserably.

"You need to eat," Maren repeated and held up the bowl. "And you can feed yourself, or I can feed you."

Elsa's eyes darted to the bowl, then to Maren's face, then back to the bowl as she debated the merits of both options.

Maren started to grin. "You _want_ me to feed you."

"It's undignified."

"It's cute. Besides, I've seen you with your hand inside a deer, you're way past dignity."

"I guess I did volunteer to help with that," Elsa pouted, and Maren kissed her cheek.

Being spoon fed turned out to involve a lot more giggling and a little more mess than Elsa expected, but she was in a good mood by the end of it. There were a lot of things she looked forward to when they solved the sleeping problem and got home. Making sure her family was safe and exploring this _thing_ between herself and Honeymaren were at the top of the list.

"Feeling better?" Maren asked, once she'd finished cleaning them both up.

"Still a little sore, but yes. And one of these days I'm going to pay you back for this."

Eyes sparkling, Maren replied, "I look forward to it. Show me where you're sore?"

"…My back?"

Maren gently nudged Elsa forward on the bed, and settled behind her. A little nervously at first, she started to rub and press her hands against Elsa's back, somehow managing to find the spots that needed attention the most and drawing a surprised moan from Elsa's mouth. She leaned back against Maren, closing her eyes and occasionally wincing when a particularly sore spot was hit.

"Where else," Maren asked, sounding a little out of breath.

"Arms and legs," Elsa whispered, wanting Maren to touch her just about everywhere. "I think I wiped myself out."

In hindsight, she'd pushed herself too far and too hard, but the only alternative had been everyone else dying. And as Maren moved from behind her, she realized that her feelings on Honeymaren dying were a lot stronger than the others. Almost as strong as Anna, just in a different way.

Maren sat back down on the bed, her cheeks noticeably darker as she put her hands on Elsa's shins. "I'll start, uhm, here."

They couldn't stay here long, not when every day made it more and more likely that someone might die. That Arendelle would run out of supplies, or one of the sleepers might become too weak.

But she was so tired and she felt spent. They needed time to recover and to plot their next move and as much as she hated the idea it was reality.

Anna … Anna _would_ take care of Arendelle. She was the better Queen, the better choice, and not just because it freed Elsa. The Northuldra were secure in Haladreth's care; Elsa respected her as much as she respected her sister.

Elsa's thoughts swerved sideways and over a cliff when Maren's hands reached her thighs. The massage hurt in a good way, though she focused more on Maren's deepening blush as her fingers twitched almost needily. Carefully, she took Maren's hands and lifted them in an effort to spare them any further embarrassment, and immediately regretted their absence. But she was still touching Maren's hands, and that was always nice.

"Sorry," Maren whispered, finally looking up at her. "Any … anything else?"

"I think my lips could use a little attention," Elsa whispered back, gazing into Maren's eyes.

Maren leaned in to kiss her, and Elsa chuckled against her lips.

"What's so funny?"

"Mmshh." Elsa smiled, rubbing her hands up Maren's back and pulling her close. She kissed Maren lazily, then nuzzled her cheek. "Okay. Okay. I'll rest, but I want to make sure Olaf is okay, and talk to Tyra. And the townspeople, and—"

"I'll take care of it," Maren promised. "They can all come to you."

"We have to leave tomorrow."

"Elsa." Maren pressed a hand over Elsa's heart, "We'll only leave tomorrow if I'm satisfied you're okay. You can't help anyone if you collapse."

Elsa sucked on her lip, and then nodded. "I'll just have to figure out how to prove to you that I'm okay."


	12. Logistics

It was one of the longest nights, or days or _whatever_ of Anna's life and she was a woman who'd had a whole lot of long nights. _Seawolf_ was a complete loss and Anna hadn't yet had the heart to find out how many had been lost with it. The other two ships had retreated, though the Admiral had told her she didn't expect the Faronden's to get very far. In her words, it would be a sitting duck for salvage and just needed a lot of repairs and to fly some new colors.

Anna didn't actually feel all that bad about the idea of claiming it as a victory prize, if she was honest with herself.

She felt very woozy by the time _Grace_ pulled into dock and Mattias had his soldiers march the prisoners off. That was going to be a problem she could worry about later; she trusted Mattias to take proper, humane care of them.

"Your Majesty!" Kai greeted her as she slowly descended the gangplank. "I can't believe you- you're bleeding!"

"What? Oh this? It's not all mine." Anna looked down at herself. The surgeon had cut her top so that her midriff was exposed. It was wrapped in several layers of bandages that were seeping through. Again. "I'll have someone change it when I get back to the castle."

"Make sure Her Majesty sits down for the next several hours," Melinda called out, sounding more amused than anything else. "She kept tearing her stitches trying to help the other wounded.

"_Stitches_?!"

Anna smiled sheepishly and knew she wasn't going to be allowed to walk around for at _least_ the rest of the day. But before she let Kai usher her off and get all fussy with her, she pointed at the Admiral. "For your heroism today, how does Duchess Melinda Strand sound?"

"You don't need to do that, Your Majesty."

"Too late," Anna quipped. "I've already decided!"

"Maybe grant titles later, Your Majesty," Kai said, shaking his head. "For now I want the doctor to take a look at your wound."

"She's still awake?" Anna's shoulders sagged with relief. "Oh thank God." Having both Kai and Doctor Engberg with her made her feel like she might just get through this. And if that was the case, she wasn't going to let a little flesh wound get the better of her. She started to turn back towards the dock, consumed with the thought that there were still people who needed help.

"Anna. _Please_."

She looked at him, at the pleading expression on his face. In a lot of ways he was the closest thing she had to a father figure and in this moment, they weren't Queen and Servant, but family. Blinking away tears, she nodded. "Okay. Okay. I'll behave."

If Kai was concerned, Dr. Engberg was the exact opposite side of the emotional spectrum. She stood up from where she'd been setting up some kind of contraption with long tubes attached to glass bottles, and stared at Anna. "What the _hell_ did you let her get up to?"

"I assure you," Kai said, lifting his chin, "if I'd known the Queen was going to insist on remaining on board the ship during the naval engagement, I would have carried her off _myself_."

Engberg grumbled something impolite, then took Anna by the elbow and led her out of the ballroom and down the hall. There was a rarely used study and it seemed as though it had been converted into a prepping area for medicine. She pointed at a table. "Lay down."

Knowing that silly things like rank and station weren't going to matter to the doctor, Anna obeyed.

Engberg unrolled the bandage, clucking her tongue in increasing dismay as she did so. "Were you treated by the butcher?"

"They were doing their best while under fire and dealing with worse injuries," Anna protested. "In fact you should probably go help."

"You damn well bet I will, Your Majesty. Once I've taken care of you." She scowled, and prodded at the wound in Anna's side. Pain shot through Anna, making her eyes water and she couldn't bite back a cry.

"Okay it wasn't hurting like that before."

"You were running on adrenaline. Plus this was a piss poor stitching job, no wonder they keep ripping."

"When the … current set of crises is past," Anna gasped. "You can teach all our medical workers. Arendelle could … do with a medical school."

"Always wanted to be a teacher." She continued to poke and prod, then stuck something between Anna's teeth and started cleaning the gash with some kind of solution that made it burn like the fires of hell and had Anna seeing stars.

When the pain and the screaming both faded, Anna thunked her head back on the table, pulling the stick out of her mouth and cursing so vividly she was sure Elsa heard her hundreds of miles away and would show up any second looking scandalized.

"One afternoon with sailors." The doctor appeared in her field of view, the kind of smile on her face that made Anna wonder if all doctors were somehow evil. "Now, I'm going to stitch you up properly, and then you're going to rest. I'll even be nice and put you next to Kristoff."

"Do you think," Anna asked, dazed, "that Elsa will succeed?"

"We can only keep going, Majesty, one day at a time." This time the Doctor's smile was kind, "You made an impression out there. The people will remember that. And the Southern Isles and Faronden will, too."

"Just … make sure no one else dies," Anna whispered.

"Don't worry about that. I might nag 'em on technicalities and technique, but our medics are pretty good. By all rights, it's a miracle you were still standing this long."

"I'm giving out _so_ many medals."

?

Elsa tried three times to sneak out of bed, but each time Honeymaren or Tyra would catch her and force her back in. It was just that she was getting restless; all she had to look at was the small inn room and the sky outside her window. A sky that was as eternal a night as it had been while at sea.

"Tyra, how far would you say we sailed before the wreck?"

Tyra had come in at her request. Elsa had questions that she hoped Tyra might have answers to.

"By my count, I'd say somewhere north of eight-fifty miles from the last time you asked." Tyra didn't look up from the piece of wood she was carving with a knife. "We didn't sail in a straight line once we left the mainland. Kind of…" She moved the knife in a curve or arc. "Was a little past 900 miles when dad zonked out. Can't say how far from there to the shore mind you. Hard to judge speed when you're in the mouth of the beast.

"How far to this town?"

"Took a couple of hours with Sven pulling us, and he wasn't moving at top speed. So I'd say thirty miles, maybe."

"I wish I knew how much farther I have to go…"

"Maren lost most of her translations in the storm." Tyra shrugged, then held up a remarkably well carved figurine of Elsa riding atop the monster and set it on the table. "If I'd been thinking I'd have put them in the chest. Sorry."

"We were all thinking about a lot of other things at the time." Elsa put her hand over Tyra's, "Thank you."

Tyra turned to go, but Elsa called out. "What is _in_ that chest, anyway? If I may ask."

"Well," Tyra rubbed the back of her neck, smiling wistfully, "everything that matters. Memories of my dad's old life, mementos of my mother." Her smile turned rueful. "Insurance papers for the ship."

Understanding now, Elsa laughed. "That's probably important, but I can convince Queen Anna to help somehow."

Elsa picked up the carving once Tyra had left, and looked it over. The woman had a good eye, though she'd only really gotten the vaguest shape of the monster. As Elsa lifted it up in front of her eyes, she wondered if that was actually how she'd looked. Like some majestic being out of myth and legend. Freyja or Thorgerd or some legend yet unknown. Maybe even one of her own.

She had to laugh at herself for the thought.

"What's so funny?"

"Hello, Olaf." Elsa set the carving back on the table and then patted her lap. He climbed onto the bed and settled down and she put her arms around him. There was a comfort in this, a reminder of home and the warm hugs that waited there. "Just had some silly thoughts."

He stared up at her expectantly. "I like silly."

"Scandinavia is filled with all kinds of stories of the heroes of old. It wasn't just Aren in Arendelle, and other nations have their own." She pointed out the carving. "Tyra made me look like some legendary goddess and while that's fun to think about and I can imagine Honeymaren's face if I wore some of those outfits, that's not who I am or who I want to be."

"Well, who do you want to be then?"

She studied Olaf's open expression for a moment, and then tapped the tip of his nose. "A protector. Of the Enchanted Forest, of Ahtohallan, and of Arendelle. Mother and Father's sides of the family, both. But … Anna is the protector of Arendelle now…"

"She always was." Olaf snuggled into her arms. "But so are you. That's why you're here, isn't it? And why she's there? Sometimes duty calls you in opposite directions, but that doesn't mean you aren't still together in spirit. Where it counts. But is that really all you want to be, Elsa?"

Elsa rested her face on the top of his twiggy head. "I want a lot of things…"

"Like?"

"To be my own person."

"I think we can check that one off."

Elsa laughed. "I want what Anna and Kristoff have…"

"Yeaaaah I don't think that's gonna work out," Olaf shook his head. "I don't think Anna is the sharing type and I _really_ can't see you and Kristoff." He moved his hands around as if that would somehow describe his thoughts. "Kissing him would be like kissing a reindeer."

"No!" Elsa scrunched up her nose, "Oh god no. I love Kristoff but not like that. Never like that. I mean they have this … they trust each other. They can depend on each other when they need it, but they're not _dependent_ on each other."

"So you don't want to kiss Honeymaren and hold her and wrestle in that way like when I found Anna and Kristoff in the library?" Olaf asked.

"Of course I do but-" Elsa's eyes widened, "In the-_I'm going to kill her_!"

"I could be wrong, but that would be treason."

Elsa buried her face in her hands. The library was bad enough, but poor Olaf… "Moving on. Did you discover much from the townspeople?"

"Yeah."

"You did?"

"Yeah."

"And what did you find?" Elsa asked.

"Oh nothing serious, just that their first person fell asleep three weeks ago and the sun hasn't risen since."

Elsa's head snapped up as she did the math in her head. "That was before Kristoff and Ryder!"

Olaf stared at her blankly. "Yeah, keep up."

"Which means that we're close. We're very, very close." She squeezed her arms around him. "That or it just started here and then spread, but even so that's still the best news I've heard today.

She pulled back. "How many of them are asleep? Do they have any other information?"

"Half of them give or take two." Olaf tapped his chin. "They said that the day before all that, there was a lot of thunder northwest of here, and then the sky darkened with ash.

"A volcano…" Elsa wondered if that was the spirit she was meant to calm like in that old story, but couldn't help but feel it was both too obvious and that there was more to it than that. But they'd sailed northwest, and it looked like she was going to have to _walk_ northwest.

The question she kept asking herself was if she was going to go alone.

?

"Fancy meeting you here," Anna said, patting Kristoff's hand. The man just kept laying there, snoring softly, and she sighed and looked around. There were only two caregivers moving through the room, but the room itself was filled to capacity with sleepers, all tethered to those tubes and glass bottles that she'd noticed the Doctor tinkering with before. The one concession that Anna had managed to get out of the doctor was to be wheeled in on a chair rather than take a bed from a patient. Even if, as it had been pointed out, Anna _was_ a patient.

A minor technicality that had nothing to do how much pain she was in. For a brief moment, Anna regretted turning down help for the pain. But she wanted a clear head and to save their laudanum supply for those who _really_ needed it, anyway.

"You wouldn't believe what you missed, baby." She squeezed his hand. "I defended Arendelle. Like, for real. In battle and everything. It was _horrible_."

Anna's fingers tightened around his hand. "And I might have gotten myself hurt in the process. But don't worry, I've gotten patched up good as new. We'll tell Elsa it was only a flesh wound. Wouldn't want her worrying, you know? You, I think, can handle the news. Elsa … might not react too well. My big sis can be overprotective. Which is _totally_ a nice turn around from how it used to be."

That wasn't entirely fair. Elsa's entire isolation problem had been to protect Anna. But that didn't change the way it had made her feel and it never would. It just explained it, and they'd agreed to move forward together.

Kristoff's snoring changed, and Anna went still, staring at him for several minutes before it became clear he wasn't actually waking up.

God, she wished Olaf were here. He'd do or say something to cheer her up or at least distract her from how much her side hurt.

"Your Majesty?"

"Soyun! I'm glad to see you. Bring that chair over here and have a seat, I'm dying to talk to someone who can actually respond and won't scold me."

Soyun smiled, pulling a chair over and sitting next to Anna. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a cannonball exploded next to me." Anna winced. "Don't try it. Not fun. No scolding, remember?"

"I'll try to keep the scolding at a minimum, Your Majesty."

"Anna."

"Right." Soyun flushed a little, and looked down at her hands, "I don't have much to report. I had someone ride out to check on the farms, the animals are still wandering around, but keeping to their herds for the most part. Otherwise everyone is either helping out or worrying."

"Helping out is a great way to keep from worrying." The last report Anna had seen had been _extremely_ worrisome. The number of people falling asleep had risen again, and they were running out of people strong enough to take care of others. The food situation was starting to get dicey and Anna's Grandmother Brigade had branched out past bread and into, well, everything else.

Soyun nodded. "That's what I think, too." Her eyes drifted to Kristoff, and then the tube tying him to his hanging bottle. "I heard her talking about this. The doctor, I mean."

"Yeah? I didn't get a chance to ask on account of the screaming pain I was in."

"She said she was trying to figure out a way to inject everyone with the solution that would require less work since she'd run out of nurses."

"Probably hasn't been able to properly train up the volunteers yet," Anna mused. She sank back in her chair and exhaled, then took out her notepad and scribbled something.

"What's that?"

"Oh. I want to set up a medical school once this is all over. Maybe even a general university. Arendelle has grown exponentially since we opened the gates, we've gotten so many immigrants and," Anna shrugged and regretted the motion, "I think it would be good."

"Like my family?"

"Yes." Anna smiled at her, remembering the hours she'd spent with her in front of a bonfire, talking about her native country of Chatho. "We're stronger because of you and your family, and so many others like you."

"I'm happy cattle calling, but I think my brother would like to go to a university. Others are so far away, or too expensive."

"I'm just hoping there's a treasury left after all this," Anna admitted.

"What do you mean?" Soyun leaned forward, putting a hand on Anna's shoulder to steady her.

"Oh, well. To pay people back for using their food stores, repairs on our ships, and so many people have had their lives put on hold that they'll need help making it through the next winter. And our trade has stalled which will only make things worse." Anna couldn't help but think that Faronda and other nations were circling like vultures and she didn't regret bloodying their noses, even if she regretted that people had been hurt. But she'd have to be careful, really, _really_ careful to not put Arendelle into a debt it couldn't afford.

"We'll get through it, Anna. I have faith in you _and_ our people."

Anna looked at Soyun, marveling at the way she'd stepped up. Everyone had. Every citizen of Arendelle, every visitor trapped within the borders. They worked ceaselessly to take care of everyone, sleeping or awake.

So many medals. She was going to hand out _so_ many medals...


	13. Seeking Solace

Maren closed the door behind her as quietly as she could, relieved to see that Elsa was resting peacefully. Or at least pretending to. She would prefer another day before they set out, but she was also certain Elsa would try to leave come hell or high water in the morning. So Maren just needed to keep her from leaving until she was _actually_ ready.

Elsa didn't need to martyr herself to save them all and just the thought of losing her made Maren's blood run cold. Not now. Not after all of this.

Sitting on the bed, she played with a strand of Elsa's silver-blonde hair. It was so soft, somehow softer than the fur of a baby reindeer, and silky besides. Reluctant to break the moment, she whispered, "Are you asleep?"

"Yes." Elsa peeked one eye open and smiled at her. "But I think I've slept enough."

"Mm mm." Maren stroked a finger down Elsa's nose, then leaned down to place a very quick kiss on her lips. "If we're going to fight a volcano we need you as strong as possible."

"Olaf told you, didn't he." Elsa sighed.

"Yes. But I also remember some of the drawings in that book. A volcano was among them."

"I _promise_ I wasn't going to keep it from you." Elsa touched Maren's leg, rubbing her fingers in a slow circle that made it very hard for Maren to properly focus.

"I didn't think you would." Maren gazed down at her, feeling like there were a hundred conflicting emotions in her heart. She had the exact same fear Elsa had about taking too long, but they needed Elsa at her strongest. If they had any hope of fixing this, of waking Ryder and Kristoff, they cuoldn't afford for either of them to falter at the last minute. And even more than that, Maren wanted Elsa to be _safe_. Even if even in this cozy little inn none of them really _were_. So she was afraid of what might happen if she let Elsa get up out of this bed too soon.

At least that was the excuse she gave herself when she kicked her boots off and laid down next to Elsa, putting herself between the Fifth Spirit and the exit.

"You can't fool me," Elsa said. She slipped her arm around Maren's waist and pulled closer until their bodies were practically molded together. "I see through your dastardly plan to keep me in bed."

Maren rolled to face her, nervously splaying her fingers on Elsa's hip and trying to ignore how thin the fabric felt beneath her skin. "Is it working?"

"Maybe." Elsa _looked better, anyway. The color was back in her cheeks and her eyes were bright and inviting. The exhaustion that had been present after the shipwreck was almost gone and she smiled._

_Unable to tear her gaze away, Maren's heart battered at her ribcage. She tried to search for the right words, but her tongue remained stubbornly tied. Elsa was so stunningly beautiful, inside and outside and she was also this maddening contradiction of warm body and chilled skin that Maren sometimes fantasized about tasting- _

_"Is the door locked?" Elsa asked, even more color on her cheeks than before. _

_"What?" Maren tilted her head curiously. "I don't think so, why?" _

_Elsa twirled her fingers and Maren watched as the door handle froze, before that same hand cupped her cheek. She was pulled gently back towards Elsa, just as their lips met. _

_Oh. _

_It was as thrilling as the last time they'd kissed like this, Maren rubbing her hand up and down Elsa's hip and sides, occasionally darting teasingly to her back and daringly close to her rear as a constant stream of electric fire seared her lips. Maren knew what she wanted, and she'd wanted it since the day Elsa had stepped through the fog. _

_She felt a wordless acknowledgement, a shift within and between them as need spoke to need, and rolled on top of Elsa. But a feeling nagged at her, a worry and guilt that she couldn't ignore without at least talking about it. Maren broke the kiss as Elsa's body molded against hers, her breath fogging between their mouths as she spoke, "Is it … is it right to do this while our people are in trouble?" _

_Elsa's expression was a little dazed and pupils wide and dark. "I don't think anyone would be angry with us for finding solace together. There's nothing wrong with moments like these, is there?" _

_"No, there isn't." Maren didn't want this to just be solace, to be some kind of comfort they shared to give them a breather from their trials. She wanted to go home with Elsa, to kiss her every day and hold her every night and to make love to her, to live with her as partners for as long as Elsa was willing to have her. _

_The intensity of that emotion was overwhelming and tears stung the corners of her eyes. Elsa wiped at them with the back of her pinky finger, and kissed the corner of her lip. "It's okay." _

_"What happens when we go home?" _

_"I don't know. I was hoping everything we had before, plus more of this at least. You and me … a relationship." Elsa darted her eyes to the side, cheeks redder even than earlier. "I don't know how Anna does it, but I'd like to try … If that's what you want, I mean." _

_Like a reindeer bursting into a sprint, Maren felt her heart dislodge and she laughed, leaning down to catch Elsa's lips again. Her insecurity faded away and she could feel Elsa's melt too. Maren turned her head, kissing Elsa's cheek, and then her jaw and working her way up to her ear. Gently, she nibbled and sucked at Elsa's earlobe and then kissed the spot just behind her ear. _

_Elsa arched up against her, her hands rubbing hard circles in her back. There were too many barriers between them. Their clothing and the sheets kept Maren away from Elsa's skin and that had to be some kind of crime. It just had to be! _

_"Mare…" Elsa breathed, and Maren discovered there were now two people in the entire world who were allowed to call her that. For vastly different reasons, of course. _

_"Yes, Elsa?" She lifted her head, gazing lovingly down at her while her hand not-so-subtly tried to find whatever clasp or tie was keeping Elsa's clothing on. _

_Laughing, Elsa threaded an arm around Maren's shoulder, "I just … like saying your name so much." _

_"Shush, you're embarrassing me." _

_"It's just the two of us, how can you be embarrassed?" _

_Maren kissed the tip of Elsa's nose, "Says the woman who's the color of her sister's hair." She pushed herself up onto her knees, straddling Elsa in the process, and then made a point of eye contact while she undid her tunic's laces and then pulled it over her head, tossing it to the floor. Shaking out her hair, she looked back down at Elsa. Elsa's eyes were wide and the look on her face was a curious awe. Ignoring the urge to cross her arms over her chest, Maren smirked. "Do I have your attention now?" _

_"Yes …" Elsa traced her fingers up Maren's side, stroking her ribs as she did so and Maren's hands itched to return the favor. The touch wasn't as cold as she expected, though still noticeably chillier than Maren's body heat. _

_Try as she might, there was still no obvious signs of entry and finally Maren asked in desperation, "How do I get you out of those clothes?!" _

_Elsa threw her head back against the pillow and laughed. _

_"Elsa!" _

_"One moment." Elsa's hands caressed across Maren's breasts, moving in gentle circles and squeezing experimentally. Maren shivered, gasping as the pleasure rippled through her like a gentle wave. Maren forgot what they were supposed to be doing and Elsa seemed to be lost in the moment too. _

_"Okay," Elsa said, pulling her hands away despite Maren's protesting groan. She took Maren's hands, guiding them to where the ties were hidden. _

_"I can take it from here," she whispered, shifting off of Elsa, then leaning down to kiss her as she undid the ties. Slowly, more and more of Elsa's skin became exposed, until Elsa melted the last bits away and she was bared to Maren. _

_Unable to tear her eyes away, Maren was considerably less graceful in getting her trousers off and Elsa caught her before she could tumble out of the bed. They sat facing each other on their knees for a moment, openly drinking each other in before Elsa cupped Maren's face and kissed her. _

_As the kiss depened, Maren put her hands on Elsa's waist. Her skin was starting to warm to her touch. She brought her hands around, stroking Elsa's stomach and then sliding her hands up towards Elsa's breasts. That was only fair for earlier, but she was startled when Elsa flicked her tongue against her lips. _

_Maren shuddered, before returning the gesture. They teased each other like that, hands exploring in slow and sensual strokes until Maren's mind was a thick fog of hungry desire. She pushed Elsa down onto her back, sucking on her lower lip as she did so. Her lover squirmed underneath her, a wordless gasp turning into a groan as Maren traced fingers around each breast. _

_Ice might be Elsa's element but the more Maren touched her the warmer she felt under her hands. Maren drew her head back, grinning when Elsa tried to follow her lips. "Just let me look at you. I've been dreaming about this for months." _

_"Have you … Hnn…" Elsa's eyebrows disappeared into tangled hair, her eyelids fluttering closed when Maren gently flicked her thumbs across ice-hard nipples. "That's touching, not looking, sweetheart …" _

_Elsa slid her hands down Maren's thighs and her response died in her throat. Almost painfully slowly, Elsa scooted forward, pressing their bodies together and wrapping her arms around her. _

_Maren held her close, burying her face into her neck as she laid them both down. Laying half on top of her, Elsa pushed her knee between Maren's legs, nipping and biting at her neck and chest as though she were trying to mark her. _

_Elsa laughed quietly when Maren pushed her head towards her breast, exploring it with her hand and then with her mouth. The feeling was nearly indescribable, like electric fire and ice all at once; as though she was primed for Elsa's touch. Maren stared down at her, at her closed eyes and enraptured expression on her face as she drew a nipple into her mouth, sucking lightly and moving her tongue around it in a visual that ignited a fire deep within Maren's core. _

_She took Elsa's free hand and planted it on her lonely, ignored breast, then stroked the fingers of that hand down Elsa's back, groping her rear as best she could from this angle. Her other fingers dug tightly into silky golden hair as she pressed Elsa's face against her chest. _

_Her lover seemed content to follow Maren's lead with an eager mouth and hand. _

_There was a twinkle in Elsa's eye when she next opened it, just before a frigid finger stroked over one of her nipples. It was so shockingly good that Maren wasn't fast enough to entirely muffle her shout. Her entire body started to tremble, her legs squirming and writhing as heat pooled between them. And then Elsa did that again, following it up by blowing frosty breath against wet skin. _

_Maren momentarily forgot her own name. _

?

Honeymaren was so beautiful that it astounded Elsa. This wasn't an _infrequent_ feeling considering how many snow flurries in her stomach she'd ignored over the past year. But right now, the light from a lantern cast a warm, golden glow on skin that was goosepimpled from a slight chill. She almost shone, making Elsa feel almost reverent as she touched her and the way Maren's body trembled under that touch and the way she _tasted_ made her head swim.

She was fairly certain if the crisis hadn't interrupted her that morning that felt a lifetime ago that she and Maren might have still kissed sooner rather than later.

"You're so perfect." Elsa left little kisses from one breast to the other, capturing the other nipple between her lips and gazing up at Maren as she flicked her tongue.

"Ice … fingers are cheating," Maren gasped, tilting her head back, breathing heavily.

Elsa sucked harder, stroking the other nipple with an ice-sheathed finger as she let her breath frost the one between her lips. This time Maren was able to clap a hand over her mouth as she bucked and writhed, the fingers in Elsa's hair digging in almost hard enough to hurt.

This was probably the best discovery so far, in Elsa's opinion. But she relented a little, drawing little symbols in Maren's skin as she slid her hand down her body, shivering at the hands kneading at her butt and lower back. Groaning, she rocked her hips against Maren's, needing her, needing _contact_ with her, needing their bodies to somehow become one.

Maren tugged at her hair, and she shimmied up until they were face to face again. Her hand danced across Maren's stomach, the feel of her muscles under her fingers pleasantly distracting. The hand on her rear slid up to her hip, and then down towards her thigh and Elsa paused her own explorations at the soft hair on Maren's pelvis.

She stared into Maren's eyes, nervous and mouth dry, as if this was somehow the point of no return. Maren nodded shyly, so Elsa smiled and moved her fingers through Maren's silky hair. At almost the same time, Maren's hand did the same through Elsa's pale hair. A jolt went through her when Maren made contact with the slick heat between her legs.

"Mare…" Elsa stroked gently, moving her fingers in fits and starts in an exploratory circle. Maren was so hot it felt like it was burning her fingers and she hoped she wasn't too _cold_ for her.

Seemingly beyond words, Maren just answered with Elsa's name, rolling her hips in slow motion and giving back the same kind of pleasure she was receiving. It rippled through Elsa, chasing away coherent thought as the feelings built up and up and up. The way Maren looked, hair askew and mouth open, her skin glistening with perspiration, sent Elsa into a wild mood. She kissed her, seeking her mouth with her own, claiming it and claiming _Maren_ in the most intimate of ways.

And Maren responded freely, offering herself and accepting Elsa's offer in turn until Elsa knew what it felt like to completely _shatter_.

Minutes or hours later, when Elsa's sense finally returned, she was tangled up with Maren, legs threaded through legs and clinging to her as though her life depended on it. Her breathing came in short, ragged gasps matched by the rapid rise and fall of Maren's chest. Wiping her hand on the sheets, Elsa grinned at her.

Maren breathlessly laughed, trying to scootch closer, to maybe prevent any air from getting between them. Elsa's smile widened in response, but she could only bury her face into Maren's chest and bask in the joy they'd shared. Happy tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

"This was worth traveling nine-hundred miles for," Elsa joked.

"Next time let's just find a quiet place in the woods," Maren suggested. Slowly, she lifted her hand to Elsa's face and stroked her thumb across her cheek.

Elsa said the words before she could second-guess herself, "I was thinking my goahti."

Maren flushed. "I might not want to leave…"

As she drew Maren back in, body to body and skin to skin, Elsa whispered, "I would want nothing more than for you to stay."


	14. Close Apart

It wasn't until Anna lost Kai that she realized how utterly screwed she was and how dependent she was on him and Gerda. With one down, she could muddle along. With both stuck in an eternal slumber, she was quickly running out of ideas. _And_ hope.

At least he could get some rest, which was more than Anna could say about herself. She'd known he'd been worried about Gerda, but had been too busy to really focus on that, what with doing everything and anything she'd asked or needed of him.

No. No, Anna still had some hope. She could stand on her own two feet.

Or, well, roll around since the doctor wouldn't let her stand for very long, but that was neither here nor there.

Tuva, one half of the married blacksmith team of Ada and Tuva Diaz, had taken the time to rig Anna's chair so she could get around without someone pushing her, despite her wife being one of the sleepers. A fact that Anna took note of for later, both because she appreciated her taking the time and also because there were a number of people in the kingdom who could benefit from the invention. Just another line in the long, post-crisis to-do list Anna kept in her notepads.

She was going to be busy for _months_… But she looked in on one of the rooms, and the people laying there, and knew that it would all be worth it. For her people. For her home.

Anna wheeled herself down the hallway, taking advantage of a slight slope to increase her speed. She careened around a corner, nearly running Soyun over before she was able to brake. "Sorry! Soyun! I was hoping to see you."

"What do you need? And shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm sitting down, aren't I?"

Soyun looked unconvinced. "I am not sure this is what the doctor meant."

Anna waved her hand, "Listen if I sit still for too long I'll only focus on how much it hurts. Among other things." She wasn't entirely talking about her wound or the battle, either. It hurt to see Arendelle like this. To see her friends and family unresponsive and to know that Elsa was out there, potentially all alone.

And the very real possibility that Anna might never know if something happened to her. "And since Kai is down someone has to be running themselves ragged for this country and as Queen, it really should be me."

"Why don't you let me help," Soyun suggested.

"That's the plan!" Anna pulled out a notepad and a pencil from a pouch hanging off the chair, and held it up to her friend. "First things first. Kai was getting an updated count on our foodstock, as well as a list of names and professions of everyone still awake."

Soyun nodded, taking the offered pad and pencil. She flipped through it quickly, frowning. "These lists are very short, had he just started?"

"This is from a few hours work," Anna said.

"This is very bad."

"You're telling me." Anna shifted in the chair, biting her lip as her wound protested at the movement.

"Once I finish both tasks I will see if I cannot come up with some solutions." Soyun tapped the tip of the pencil against her lip as she stared at what had already been written.

Anna felt bad since there was a good chance Soyun might have to redo some of Kai's work because things might have changed in the past hour. "Soyun, can you give me your honest opinion on something?"

"Of course."

"What's the mood in the kingdom? And how much longer do you think we have?"

"People are scared, but they're holding on to hope and to each other," Soyun replied. "I think they worry more about their families and friends than they do the night sky, even if it is an ill omen. I know I do." She underlined a name on the list and her frown deepened.

"The castle is full," Anna said, weariness settling into her bones. Before the gates had opened, Arendelle had had a small but loyal population; it had since grown exponentially, which was now having some drawbacks. "The barracks too. We've put as many people as we could in the shops and homes nearby and even built an emergency shelter, and still more people are falling asleep. We're going to have to start stacking people like books."

"Extrapolating from Kai's work so far, I'd guess only two-fifths of the population is actually awake." Soyun lowered the pad. "There's no way we're going to be able to keep caring for ourselves, let alone the sleepers. We've run out of wheat and flour. Arendelle basically only exists in name right now. We've almost completely collapsed."

"I need to talk to the doctor. Walk with me." Anna started to roll herself towards the throne room. "I hate to suggest this, but your cattle-"

Soyun sighed, "We need to eat, your majesty, I understand. I will slaughter enough to get us through the next few days if we are very careful. After that I'm not sure it will matter any more."

?

Honeymaren woke to an empty bed, and abruptly sat up, looking around the room for some sign of Elsa. But she was alone, and Elsa's clothing was gone too. Maren stumbled out of bed, feet tangling in the sheets and sending her sprawling. She almost hit her head on the corner of the table as she landed in a heap on the floor.

Trying to be a little less panicked, she pulled her trousers and tunic on and laced up her boots. She'd lost her staff with the ship, so all she had was herself as she rushed out of the inn room and into the crisp, chilly air. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the starlight, and she could see Sven near the stables, a sleigh tied to him.

She started to jog towards Sven and then collided with someone.

Elsa caught her and steadied them both. "Mare! I was just coming to wake you up."

Maren stared at her in disbelief. "You … you weren't leaving without me?"

"No." Elsa shook her head. "No, baby, I wasn't going to leave without you. I just wanted to get an early start on loading the sled and talking to the villagers. And you looked so cute sleeping that I didn't have the heart to wake you up yet."

Anger and fear dissipated, replaced with guilt. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed."

Elsa winced. "To be honest, I kind of deserve that. But…" Her shoulders sagged, and she pulled Maren into her arms, kissing the side of her face. "There is something I need to make clear."

"Why does the sound of that make my stomach ache?"

"There might come a point where you _can't_ come with me."

Rather than jump to any further conclusions, Maren put her arms around Elsa and waited patiently for her to explain.

"I mean. When I had to go to Ahtohallan, Anna and Olaf couldn't go with me. Not because I didn't _want_ to have them with me, but because I had no choice. The trip would have killed them. They never would have made it across the ocean, let alone through the river." Elsa inhaled deeply, "I hurt them, and I know it, and I deserved their anger. But there wasn't time to explain and I didn't really have the _words_ to explain, I just _knew_. I knew they would die and I chose the better of two bad options."

"So you're taking the time to explain to me now," Mare guessed. She pulled away, just enough to be able to touch Elsa's face. "I understand. You're the fifth spirit, you're _magic_. I'll go with you as far as I can, but make no mistake, I'll do everything in _my_ power to bring you home."

Elsa touched her forehead to Maren's. "You know, Anna was still kind of mad at me even after I explained that."

"It's pretty clear she got over it."

"Yes, but I promised myself I wouldn't let myself be put into that kind of position again. I don't like breaking promises, I've done enough of that in my life."

Gazing into Elsa's eyes, Maren made a promise to herself of her very own. It involved a whole lot of reindeer…

"Okay. So I've packed food, and blankets, I got flint for both of us. I've said my goodbyes to Tyra." Elsa stepped away, ticking off each point on a finger. "Sven is ready to go, Olaf is napping in the sled, I have a map of the area, and you're awake. I think that's everything important."

Taking Elsa's hand, Maren pulled her towards the sled. "I've got first watch."

"I thought we'd sit together."

The hopeful tone in Elsa's voice made Maren's heart speed up. "We can do that too."

She helped Elsa into the sled, even if Elsa didn't really _need_ the help, and then climbed in after her. Sven looked back at them and Maren nodded at him. "You've got this Sven. We need you to take us the rest of the way. For Ryder. For Kristoff."

Sven snorted and then broke into a trot before Maren had time to grab the reins. Elsa laughed, wrapping an arm around her to keep her steady. "I feel good about this, Mare." She looked suddenly unsure. "It's okay if I call you that?"

"Yes." Maren stared straight ahead in a failed attempt to hide her blushing. "But only because I like you so much."

"She likes you too," Olaf said, his head popping up behind them so suddenly Maren nearly fell off the sled.

"I think she knows, Olaf."

"I mean, she really _really_ likes you."

Maren turned towards him, "Does she now? And how much does Elsa like me?"

"Mare!"

"She was humming the whole time we were loading the sled. Mare this, Maren that, Honey honey honey. She must be really sweet on you."

Elsa groaned, hiding her face behind one of her hands.

Ignoring the little giddy delight at the way Elsa said her name like that, Maren tilted her head in Elsa's direction. "I remember Anna telling me that Honey is a term of endearment in Arendelle."

"…It is."

"And I guess that explains why you never call me that."

"It does." Elsa peeked out at her through two fingers. "It kind of slipped out."

"Like 'baby'?"

"I was hoping you hadn't noticed."

Maren leaned over, kissing her lightly. "I noticed. And I liked it."

"Okay great," Elsa breathed, taking the reins from Maren and focusing very intently on steering a reindeer that needed very little direction.

"You know," Olaf said, his thinky face on, "I've noticed that people have a tendency to focus on the little things when there's a lot of bad happening, as if that can distract them from the fact that we are linear beings with a finite life span with which to wander this earth and everything we know and love will one day turn to dust."

"That's not exactly something people like to focus on, Olaf." Maren shifted to rest her arms on the backrest. "We shouldn't pretend bad things don't happen, but when it's something we can't control it's better to focus on the things we can."

She didn't know if they were going to be traveling for hours or days, but the last thing Maren wanted to think about was her family out of reach and fast asleep. It only made her fear for both herself and Elsa.

"Maren is right." Elsa peeked back at him, before returning her eyes to Sven and their route, "We've got a long road ahead of us. It could be hours, or even days. If the only thing we think about is what we've left behind, we'll be too frozen with fear and grief to be able to help."

Maren caught Elsa looking at her out of the corner of her eyes as she continued. "Thinking about the things you have to look forward to can be motivating."

"I look forward to hugging Anna again," Olaf said.

A distant smile crossed Elsa's lips. "Me too."

"And Kristoff, he was going to teach me some reindeer games…"

Elsa put a hand on Maren's knee. "What do you look forward to, Maren?"

She glanced at her, swallowing as she tried to find the words she wanted to say. It was easy enough to start, though she nearly choked up. "Tending the herd with my brother. Seeing my parents again. Listening to Yelena's stories. Listening to Haladreth critique my bow technique."

Maren smiled and put her hand over Elsa's. "Seeing what happens next."

Elsa smiled in turn and laid her head on Maren's shoulder. "Me too."

"I could get used to this." Maren snuggled closer; the air was getting colder the farther they traveled, and she could see clouds on the horizon.

"Olaf, there's a blanket over there, could you hand it over?" Elsa groped blindly behind her until Olaf put the blanket in her hand. Then she unfolded it and covered the both of them.

Elsa didn't exactly need a blanket to protect herself from the cold, but Maren appreciated the gesture. Anna had once told her she always put a blanket over Elsa when she was sleeping even though she didn't really need it, because it was still comforting and cozy. Maren had kept an eye out for such opportunities ever since, though she only ever once had found one.

Maren also suspected Elsa had ulterior motives, a suspicion proved correct when Elsa snuggled against her.

?

Sven made good time, a fact that didn't really set Elsa's mind at ease. The temperature had started to drop as they crossed a glacier and then entered a forest, and snow was beginning to fall. Elsa felt uneasy, as though she was picking up on whatever was bothering the spirits here.

Behind her, Olaf was giggling to himself and playing solitaire with a deck of cards Tyra had given him, and she wondered what crazy rules he was coming up with. Next to her, Maren dozed. Elsa let her, wanting her to have as much rest and strength as she could get before their trail inevitably became more difficult.

A small part of her worried about what she'd do if Maren didn't actually wake up, but there was no use in doing so. Just as there was no use in worrying about what might be going on back home. How Anna and Haladreth might be coping and what challenges they faced. Nothing as bad as sinking ships and sea monsters, Elsa hoped, but she knew ruling was difficult enough even in the good times, and these were anything but good times.

She didn't envy what Anna was probably going through, but she knew that Anna would view this as a test of herself and her ability to be Queen. Elsa was confident she'd pass with flying colors. And as for her own trials, she'd been reflecting on what she remembered of Maren's translations.

As one half of the bridge between two worlds, Elsa was best positioned to connect to spirits and magic, and she was convinced there was _something_ out there, something angry and imbalanced. And if she could tame a _sea monster_ then she could do _anything_.

Her confidence didn't temper the nagging, anxious thoughts about what could happen if she failed, nor answer the questions she had about other passages Maren had translated. What if she was missing something? What if this was beyond her abilities? If she made a mistake? People would die, starving to death in eternal slumber.

Elsa smelled it before she heard the distant rumbling, a stench like soured eggs. Sven crested a hill and far in the distance she could see the mountainous shape against the sky, plumes of smoke rising from it. They came to a stop, the light snowfall changing to something else entirely, that burned her skin when it landed.

Elsa created an ice shell over the sled, extending part of it to protect Sven, then gently dislodged herself from Maren so she could perform the more delicate work of creating goggles for the reindeer to protect his eyes. Then as an after thought, she created a pair for herself and another for Maren.

"Elsa?" Maren sat up.

With her hand on Sven, Elsa stared in the direction of that distant volcano, unease making her gut roil. "Maren, there's wash cloths in the sled, we're going to need a few soaked to cover our mouths and noses with. Start a fire and we'll melt some ice. I packed a bigger one for Sven, too."

"You've thought this through." Maren hopped off the sled, and fished around in their supplies. "Olaf, give me a hand, please. No not your entire arm."

"Woops." Olaf fixed his arm back in place, then hopped off a crate and pulled the canvas from it. "There's some in here!"

"There's a man named Sorenson who lives out in a tower near the mountains," Elsa said, trying to get the goggles onto a confused Sven. "People call him a mystic, but he's really a scientist." She sighed. He was also an expert in myths and lore, but he'd been brought in as a sleeper not long after it had all started. But then nothing was ever easy. "He has a huge collection of scrolls and tomes, and there was one on volcanoes I borrowed."

"What, you read it just because?" Maren asked.

Elsa smiled. "The cover looked interesting."

They melted the ice into a cup, which Elsa then soaked the cloths in. Maren looped thread through it and tied it around Sven's snout while Elsa used some more thread to make it easier to hold the cloth in place around their own faces.

The falling ash was light at the moment, but they were going to get closer, and it was going to get worse. She took Maren's hand and squeezed it, asking, "How long do you think?"

Maren studied the far away volcano, and then the terrain between them. "I don't know, it's too dark to really see what we're going to be dealing with. But I'd say a day just to be conservative. Less if we're lucky."

Elsa nodded, pulling Maren back to the sled. "Then let's go as fast as we safely can."

She wanted this over with, one way or another.


	15. Learning to Let Go

Anna set the last plate on the already overly full table that had been set up under an awning in the courtyard, and rubbed her face as she looked at it. There were dozens of plates, each one with a meager meal prepared by volunteers, with a little aide from the Queen herself out of sheer frustration at feeling powerless.

But it was something, and maybe with a little food in peoples' bellies, morale might improve. Satisfied, Anna gingerly sat back down in her chair; while she felt better, her side still bothered her and she'd developed a superstitious thought that if she stopped obeying the doctor's orders, then the doctor would join the slumbering populace and Arendelle absolutely did _not_ need such a thing happening.

So into the chair she went, at least until she was told she could walk around again. "All right so um…" She snapped her fingers several times. "What was … Oh yeah, Scott!"

The cabin boy from the Coronan ship bounded over. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

She smiled at him, admiring the work someone had done on his new eyepatch. He looked quite fetching and was in good spirits despite being made into a cyclops by the Southern Isles. "Can you let the volunteers know lunch is ready? And after that, get some rest. Princess Rapunzel wouldn't be happy if I overworked her people."

"Not tired, ma'am." He bowed.

"Then take a break and eat."

"Yes, Your Majesty. What shall I do after?"

Anna sighed good naturedly, and knew when she was beat. "Doctor showed you the fluid system, right?"

"She showed me how to handle the bottles and how to make the solution."

"Then make sure everyone in the barracks is topped off and then check with the doctor and see if she needs help making more. We need a stockpile in case… Just in case."

Scott saluted her like she was some kind of admiral and then ran off. Anna kind of liked the thought of that. Despite the horror of the battle, she thought that Arendelle could stand to have a stronger navy for their protection. A land invasion would be difficult so the sea had always been where threats came from. But that was something to discuss with the Admiral even though it was fairly low on Anna's list.

It was a _very_ long list, after all and she really shouldn't try to add anything more to until she was able to address the more important points. Anna pulled out her pad and started to flip through it. She paused as she caught sight of her notes on a postal system. She could hear Kristoff's voice, reminding her it wasn't work time, even though it was kind of work time all the time right now and for the foreseeable future. The Festival felt so long ago and God, she could use a nap.

No wonder Elsa had ditched her for running naked in the woods with her beautiful and dashing new friend. Anna scrunched up one eye, feeling immediately guilty. "Now that's not fair. She's where she needs to be, just like I'm where I need to be. More importantly, she's _happy_ and so am I. I just…"

Maybe a little bit, Anna had been codependent on her sister and sometimes, maybe a little bit, she felt lost and upset that Elsa wasn't around for her to talk to whenever she wanted. Just because the status quo had changed didn't mean that she had to be one hundred percent happy about it all the time. If only there was a way to talk across long distances.

She couldn't say that having Elsa around would actually make things better right now. Easier yes, but not better. The battle at sea would have been over in a minute with Elsa's powers, but what would that have actually meant for Arendelle?

Anna wouldn't have been able to prove she could handle a military crisis, and one in the middle of a magical humanitarian crisis, to boot! And by giving the Southern Isles and Faronda a black eye, it meant the world now knew Arendelle could stand without a magical guardian.

Even so… "I just really miss Elsa."

Something cold and wet landed on her nose and Anna's head snapped up to look at the sky. Clouds were rolling in from the sea, ominously dark. Another snowflake landed on her, and then another and for a few minutes Anna stared, expecting to see Elsa's ship return, her arrival heralded by the snow like something out of the old sagas they'd once read together under a blanket in the library.

But no ship. No Elsa.

Only a brewing blizzard the likes of which hadn't been seen in four years. Anna pressed a hand to her chest, closing her eyes and praying that this wasn't a sign of Elsa's failure. Searching for some sign inside her that Elsa was okay, that-

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes?" She glanced up at an elderly man, recognizing him as one of the volunteers; and a runner-up at the festival. "Havardr, you really need to take shelter."

He nodded at her. "I didn't feel this coming."

"And that's unusual?"

"I always feel a storm coming, ma'am. In my bones." He pointed one craggy finger at her. "Except the day the Snow Queen froze the fjord. And now today."

Anna stared at the man, then looked back towards the encroaching snow. "Because it's _magical_."

"Your Majesty, do you think something happened to your sister?"

She was touched by his genuine concern even if the subject matter was deeply alarming. "I feel like I'd know, Havardr. In my heart." Just like she'd known that Elsa was gone even without Olaf flurrying away on her. In her heart, she knew Elsa was alive and awake.

That didn't explain the storm, and it didn't mean Elsa was unhurt, but Anna would take her victories where she could. In the meantime, she had a kingdom to prepare. "Get to cover, I've got some work to do."

He seemed to understand the heart thing, bowing low and then hobbling on stiff legs towards the castle. Once she was satisfied he would be safe, Anna started wheeling across the castle grounds, shouting at the top of her lungs.

"Blizzard! Clear the temporary shelter, get everyone into the castle or a sturdy building! This looks like a big one! Remember your partners, no one goes anywhere without a buddy!" The shelter wasn't insulated, it wasn't safe in a blizzard.

"What about your own buddy, Your Majesty?"

She shot a look at the woman calling her out. "Soyun! Guess what, you've just volunteered."

Soyun smiled at her. "So we need to evacuate the temporary shelter?"

"Yes, winter just came early."

?

Snow and ash blew against the sled with increasing intensity as Honeymaren stared directly ahead. Visibility was nearly zero, but it could be worse; Elsa was doing _something_ with her magic that reduced the worst of the wind and snow in their immediate vicinity, but was unable to affect it beyond a few meters. How much longer she'd be able to hold up was a question Maren was very close to asking.

But she gripped the reins tighter. "You've got this, Sven."

"It's weaker behind us," Elsa said, sagging against Maren. The wind picked up, but she could hear Elsa's sigh over it. "I'm sorry, I need to rest."

Well, that answered the question. Maren nudged her shoulder. "It's okay. Sven has this."

Sven snorted in response, his head low as he steadily powered through the storm. Elsa watched him for a moment, then nodded. "A little farther and then Sven needs to rest too, you think?"

The cart lurched forward as if Sven was trying to prove he could push through to the bitter end. Maren tightened her grip on the reigns as his efforts proved to be the exact opposite. If he kept pushing like this, there was _no_ way that he'd be able to take them far enough. "Elsa, do you have the strength to find us a place to shelter for a few hours? I don't think Sven actually has this."

"Turn here, just a little, there's a cave or something a few hundred yards that way." Elsa closed her eyes, and Maren glanced behind her to share a worried look with Olaf.

Guiding Sven to the right, Maren wiped at her ice goggles and squinted her eyes to peer through the storm. They really could use one or the other between the ash and snow, but Maren thought they might be closer to the volcano than she really wanted to be. The rumbling was louder now and if it erupted they wouldn't know until it was too late.

The cave was barely that, but it provided some shelter. Maren carried a dozing Elsa into it and laid her out on some of their blankets, then unhooked Sven so he could come inside too. With the sled acting like a lean-to, Honeymaren settled in with Elsa's head in her lap. Elsa rolled onto her side, burying her face into Maren's stomach.

"Have you been awake this whole time?"

"Maybe."

"And you just let me carry you?"

"…Maybe."

Maren laughed and for the first time in hours she felt better. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

Elsa opened her eyes, looking up at her. "This strange combination of tired and … pent up. Like there's energy beneath my skin trying to get out."

"Well, keep resting. You need to be refreshed for what lies ahead." She had no idea what could be ahead. Maren had been turning over her translations in her head for hours. She knew they'd come in the right direction but there'd been other things, bits and pieces of text that made no sense without the right context and 'volcano spirit' didn't appear to be the right context. "I wish I could do more for you right now. I feel like I'm just dead weight. I've been trying to remember _anything_ from the book of magic that could help, but all my notes were lost at sea."

"You're not dead weight, baby." Elsa touched her face. "You're one of my connections to the world. Like Anna, you're the earth, and my heart. Without either of you, without the Northuldra and the people of Arendelle, I'm afraid of what I might become. And you did help, you helped me find the volcano. And if there's something important I'm sure you'll remember it, or it'll come to me because you mentioned it."

Maren thought again about that last passage, the one about wholeness. Had it been literal or not? It had felt important, and maybe it related to what Elsa had just told her. Maybe … Maren registered the rest of what Elsa had just said. Oh to be a thousand miles away where she could listen to the way Elsa called her 'baby' free of exhaustion and fear. "I'm your heart?"

"Yes."

Throat bobbing, Maren blurted, "I love you."

"I love you too," Olaf said, plopping down next to them. Maren sighed, but Elsa laughed and reached out to take his hand.

"There's plenty of love to go around."

"Yes, well." Maren glanced at the sled. "Just because we're resting doesn't mean we can't figure out what to do next."

Elsa tugged on Maren's shirt. She looked at her as Elsa mouthed 'I love you' and Maren felt her throat close up. Gently, she stroked her fingers through Elsa's hair, while the wind howled outside. Eventually, the need to actually _do_ something overwhelmed her. "Olaf? Can you bring my pack over here?"

"Sure!" Olaf grabbed onto one of the straps and his arms popped out of his body, "Okay, that's heavier than I was expecting, lets try this again."

The second attempt went better, and with some effort he brought it over. Maren pulled it closer and opened the flap. "Thank you."

"You're _really_ strong."

"I guess?" Maren had never really thought about it before; she just did what she needed to do for herself and her community. It just required a lot of physical labor.

"He's right," Elsa said, opening one eye and smirking up at her. "You carried me like I was a light book."

Maren flushed, then tapped a pen on Elsa's nose. "Go back to sleep."

"Your scribbling is keeping me awake."

"I haven't even started yet."

"So whatcha doing?" Olaf positioned himself next to Elsa's side, and stared up at her with an unblinking expression.

"I might have lost all the translations, but I remember some of it. I need to do something, so I'm going to write down what I can remember." Maren carefully propped up a pad of paper on Elsa's chest.

"Elsa, does this make you a royal desk?"

Elsa laughed. "I guess it does."

"Sleep, Your _Majesty_."

"Please, never call me that." Elsa's nose scrunched cutely.

Maren started to write, though she couldn't quite ignore her curiosity, "Why is that? You're still royalty."

"I thought I'm supposed to be asleep."

Slowly, Maren moved the pen to Elsa's cheek and drew a little reindeer face. "Funny."

Elsa rolled her eyes and swatted at Maren's hand. "I didn't _hate_ being Queen. But you were never one of my subjects and I want us to always be equal. Spirity nonsense aside."

"Okay. I won't tease you about that." Maren hadn't realized it was a touchy subject, though maybe she should have. It was just that Elsa had so easily and quickly come to the same conclusion she had about where she belonged, that Maren sometimes forgot how important Arendelle still was to her. And it was clearly something that hadn't been as easy for her as she'd let on.

"I don't regret it, you know." Elsa studied her face, and Maren tried to focus on the words she was writing.

"I'm not a fan of change." Olaf looked at his feet, wriggling them. "And there's been a lot of change. Nothing but change. You moved out, Anna is so busy. I'm running out of books to read in the library."

Somehow, just from what Anna had told her, Maren was pretty sure Elsa understood that book thing.

"Things can't be the way they were." Elsa reached over, putting her hand on his shoulder. "But change isn't always bad. A lot of good things come from change."

"I know!" Olaf grinned, looking at Maren. "If Elsa hadn't listened to a magical voice in her head and awoken the spirits of the Enchanted Forest and gone on a dangerous journey that killed her before she got better we never would have met you!"

The most stricken look Maren had ever seen on a snowman suddenly crossed his face.

"Olaf?" Elsa sat up, then reached over to pull Olaf into her lap as she leaned against Maren. "I'm okay. See?"

She created a little flurry for him.

"Sometimes I have nightmares." Olaf stared in the general direction of Sven. "Of leaving Anna all alone. I go to this dark, cold place, and I can hear and see but I can't move. And I'm pretty sure I'm screaming but no one can hear it."

Elsa stiffened in Maren's lap. "I'm so sorry, Olaf. If I'd known what would happen to you, I don't know if I would have leapt quite so quickly."

"If you hadn't Anna wouldn't have learned the truth about your grandfather." Olaf blinked and looked at her. "She wouldn't have been able to destroy the dam and free everyone from his curse."

"And even if she had," Maren added, setting her pad to the side. "If you hadn't sacrificed yourself, Arendelle would have been destroyed. Not that any of us like the idea of you doing so."

Olaf wrapped his arms around Elsa. "You wanna know something else I learned this year?"

Elsa nodded. She was still sitting stiffly, leaving Maren to wonder what Olaf had said to disturb her so.

"I have to learn to let go. To accept that there are some things out of my control."

"That's good advice," Elsa replied. Her throat bobbed, and she asked, "Olaf, could you check on Sven for me? He looks lonely and scared, and right now, I've got Maren, but Sven doesn't have anyone."

Olaf bounced to his feet. "I'm on it!" He paused, then reached over and squeezed Elsa's shoulder. "It's okay if you need to sacrifice me again. Anna and Arendelle are more important."

"Oh _Olaf_, you're important!" Elsa wiped at her eyes, watching him as he ran over to Sven and wrapped his arms around Sven's neck.

Maren could feel Elsa trembling, and slid her arms around her. "Talk to me?"

"Anna once told me that she could still hear and see when she was frozen. But she couldn't move and she couldn't speak, and she said it was like being trapped in her own head. And when…" Elsa's eyes met Maren's, "When I dove into Ahtohallan and froze, it was dark and cold, and it was like being trapped in my own head where no one could hear me scream. To think that Olaf might have gone through that too, or is somehow picking it up from us … and he's never _said_ anything before!"

On occasion, Maren had noticed Elsa up late at night. That it was nightmares keeping her up made her wish she'd tried to talk to Elsa about it sooner. "When we get back, the three of you should talk about that. Obviously there's still some unresolved issues. And next time you have a nightmare, I'll be there to hold on to."

Sven lifted his head, making a questioning sound. It quickly turned into an alarmed bugle, and then another as Olaf fell over onto his back, unmoving.

"Olaf!" Elsa scrambled across the floor, skidding on her knees next to the snowman. She looked frantically down at him, hands held up like she didn't know what to do with them. Then she dropped them and shook him, "Don't you do this to me! You're important! Please! You're _important_!"

Maren knelt next to her. "Elsa! Look, he's asleep!"

Elsa leaned over him, breathing shakily. "He's just asleep. He's _just_…"

Her eyes became wide as plates, then she let out half a choked sob and clutched her hands to her chest as she folded into herself, shoulders drawn and shaking. "_Anna_!"


	16. Ashes to Ashes

Elsa carried Olaf to the sled, then rebuilt the ice shield that protected them from the ash. She remained calm, despite the situation, taking one step at a time. Let Honeymaren bundle Olaf up. Reinforce the shield. Make sure Sven's eyes and nose are protected. Make sure both she and Honeymaren have a filter to breathe through. Hook Sven up to the sled. Make sure he was ready to go. Light the lantern so they could see their way.

Before she knew it, Elsa's tasks were done, and she stared blankly past Sven towards the smoking volcano as a numbness settled into her heart. First Kristoff and Ryder, and then more and more of their people, and now Olaf, _Anna_. Who was left? Was it just the two of them, alone, while the whole world slipped away? Had _all_ of Arendelle and the Forest fallen? Was the only home she had left the woman standing behind her?

Elsa wrapped an arm around herself, the numbness fading somewhat as the sheer weight of her thoughts pulled her down. It was Maren's hand on her elbow that brought her back to earth; back to herself.

"They'll all be okay."

She turned, taking a breath and nodding. "Let's get moving. We have a break in the storm and we should take advantage of it." They both climbed onto the sled, Maren sitting on Elsa's right and taking her hand.

"Let me." Maren picked up the reigns and urged Sven on; she barely needed to, before Maren could even do anything he'd already started moving, pulling them through the ashen snow.

Sven's single-minded determination did a lot ot buoy Elsa's spirits, and she focused on that, on the warmth of Maren next to her, on the thought and hope that she'd return and find Anna waiting to greet her and tell her _all_ about how she held Arendelle together.

She could do this, she _had_ to do this; Elsa just hadn't felt this unsure and insecure in a long time. And everything felt just a little muted. Sven's hoofprints in the snow were a soft crunch, and the air had a dead sort of numbness to it. The world around them was mostly colorless grey from all the ash. Even the snow was grey.

But, she reminded herself, Anna was alive. Olaf was just sleeping. She could save them both as long as she kept pushing forward. As Anna would tell her; keep doing the next right thing.

But what if she did something wrong? Elsa had traded one set of responsibilities for another, _deeper_ set, and she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she was walking on thin ice as it was.

"Elsa."

Startled, Elsa nearly fell off of the sled. She caught herself and brushed herself off. "Yes?"

"You kind of wandered off there," Maren said.

Elsa frowned. "Sorry, I haven't done that in awhile."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

There was a looming volcano with angry spirits and Elsa didn't at all want to talk about it. But that didn't mean she _shouldn't_ talk about it. Maren deserved that kind of honesty and Elsa had promised herself that she would always try to be honest with the people she loved, especially Anna. But that included Maren, "I'm scared, Mare. What if I have to fight this thing? What if I can't get it to calm down? What if…"

Elsa shuddered, the wind picking up as she spoke, "What if we're the only ones left? What do I do if you fall asleep and I'm all alone? I don't _want_ to be alone again. I spent so much of my life being alone."

Her life had become perfect, like she'd gotten to have her cake and eat it too; a freer life, but one that she could be around people when she wanted, and have time to herself when she wanted. And to be able to see _Anna_ still.

Maren's grip on the reins tightened. "I wish I could promise that I'll be able to see this through with you to the end, but I could keel over at any moment or we could reach a place I can't go, like you said on the ship. So with that in mind, I'm going to ask you to promise me something."

"Promise you what?"

"No matter what happens, you take care of yourself, Elsa. I don't want you _dying_ for me. Anna wouldn't want that either. If you have to retreat, do it." She squeezed Elsa's hand, and put a finger over her lips before Elsa could protest. "Self-sacrifice isn't an option."

Elsa sucked in her lips, and stared down at their hands. There'd been times in her life when she'd wondered if it might be better if she died. After hurting Anna, especially, those dark thoughts in her palace and then the dungeon and … after.

But ever since she'd discovered her destiny, she'd _embraced_ life. Knowing where she belonged had been a salve on wounds she'd never known she'd had and while those wounds would always _be_ there, she had something to hold on to. Something distinctly _hers_.

"I haven't … I'm not planning on _jumping_ in the volcano or anything, Maren. But I'm mortal, just like you. My magic doesn't grant me any special gifts in that department. I might die today, but I promise you I'll try my hardest not to."

Maren clearly didn't like that answer, but she nodded and looked forward. Elsa analyzed what she'd said; no, she didn't actually _want_ to die. But it could come for her today, or tomorrow, or any time. She touched Mare's cheek. "Hey. I mean that. But that's just life, isn't it? We go through it, and then one day our string is cut and we move on to whatever comes after. I have no desire to see that string cut any sooner than necessary."

"I promised Anna I'd watch out for you, but I feel like all I've been able to do is hold onto you and pray."

"And fight bears," Elsa said. "But holding on to me goes a long way."

"We haven't run across any."

"But if we _did_, you could fight one. I even packed a spear for you."

A faint smile appeared on Maren's face. "I could. And I'll fight whatever I have to for you."

Elsa remembered a story she'd heard once, about how Haladreth had fought a bear with only a small skinning knife. She believed it, just like she believed that Maren could too. She was so kind and brave and Elsa admired her gentle strength.

"I'd rather we fight it together."

?

They'd barely been traveling for an hour before Maren realized that Sven wouldn't be able to go on much longer. The terrain was rockier, with hidden pratfalls and volcanic rock buried beneath the snow that could twist his leg or even break one of them.

She took a look at Elsa, then brought the sled to a stop. "Sven can't go any further. It's getting too dangerous for him. One wrong step and…"

Elsa looked back, then glanced worriedly at Sven. "You're the expert, Maren. I don't want anything to happen to him if I can control it."

Maren nodded, and then hopped off the sled. "Okay Sven, we need to turn you around."

Sven looked at them, confused, then turned back towards the volcano and stomped his hooves. Elsa came around to his front and held his fuzzy face in her hands. "This is as far as you can go, Sven. We need you to be able to get back to Kristoff and Anna, and someone has to take care of Olaf, who's still sleeping in the sled."

He tilted his head and huffed, ears twitching and Maren wished she had her brother's talent for communicating with reindeer. She hoped they weren't going to spend the next hour trying to coax Sven into going back the way they'd come. He was a little too close to the volcano for her comfort to just leave him here. "Please, Sven? For Kristoff? For Ryder? Go back to the village."

"Or at least that cave," Elsa suggested, seemingly able to tell that the village might be too far for Sven to want to go.

His ears drooped, and then his head. Elsa hugged him, probably more tightly than Maren thought she normally would. "We'll be all right. But Kristoff will kill me if I let anything happen to you."

Finally, Sven relented, and together the two women got him turned around. Maren studied him for a moment, then started to undo the barding and the sled.

Elsa gave her a quizzical look, then started to help on the other side.

Maren kept her voice low, "He'll have an easier time without the sled. We're going to need to secure Olaf to him so they'll both be safe."

"That's a good idea."

Once Sven was free of the sled, Elsa picked Olaf and brought him over to the reindeer. It was easier said than done to get him tied down, but between Maren's rope work and a little application of ice magic, Olaf was secured. Elsa stroked his frozen head, then patted Sven. "Okay Sven. Just head southeast from here. You can shelter in the cave, but if you feel up to it try to get back to that village. I'm counting on you to keep the both of you safe, you've got it?"

Sven stomped his hooves, straightening like he was being given orders by a general.

"Good luck, Sven," Maren said, as he started to trot off. She felt Elsa grab her hand, holding it so tightly that it hurt, but said nothing and let her lover hold on as hard as she needed to.

Once they were out of sight, Elsa leaned back against the sled, closing her eyes. Maren stepped closer, putting her arm around her and held her like that for a few precious moments.

"He'll be okay. Probably better than us."

Elsa smiled tiredly at her. "Let's pack what we can carry and keep moving. I want to get there by…" she laughed, "I almost said 'sunrise.'"

"Hey, maybe we will get to see the next sunrise together."

Eyes sparkling, Elsa nodded and Maren let go of her so they could take care of their packs. The volcano was still belching smoke, but less of it than it had been previously. Maren didn't know enough about volcanoes to tell if she should be worried or not, but she erred on the side of caution while also seeing it as a good sign. At least it would make the next leg of their journey easier, even if she didn't know if that meant the thing was going to explode while they tried to climb it.

Elsa refilled their water skins with melted ice, and Maren packed what was left of their food and a few blankets. She strapped a pickaxe to one of the packs, and then slung that over her shoulder and picked up the spear. Elsa picked up the second pack and then the lantern and neither of them looked back as they started towards that hulking shadow of a mountain.

Maren wished she could enjoy the way Elsa looked in the lantern light, but they were close, far too close to the end of all things for her to focus on that right now. One foot in front of the other. She reached for Elsa's hand.

One foot in front of the other.

?

They were so close that Elsa could taste it; assuming she could taste anything but dirt and ash. Maybe the better word was that they were so close she could feel the heat from the molten rock that cast an orange haze higher up the mountain. If they could feel it from here, it would be _unbearable_ when they got closer. Elsa came to a stop, leaning her hands on her knees as she thought about their next course of action.

"Can you feel anything?" Maren asked, putting her hand on her back.

When she'd first met Bruni, she'd felt something a bit like a buzzing at the back of her mind. She hadn't known what it meant then. And like with Maren, the spirits _had_ an aura for her to see.

But Elsa felt no buzzing, and when she tilted her head and looked a little to the left the only thing she could see was Maren's faint white glow.

"No," Elsa said. "I can't feel anything. Or see anything." She straightened, a horrible thought occuring to her. "This _has_ to be it, Mare! We can't have come all this way and gone to the wrong place. This _has_ to be it!"

Maren nodded, staring at Elsa and then looking up the craggy slope as a stiff wind blew her hair around her masked face. "Then we keep going until you sense something, or whatever we're supposed to be doing here becomes more clear."

"We can't go that way," Elsa pointed towards the lava flow. "I might be okay, but you'd burn to a crisp getting too close."

"Yes but…" Maren started to pace back and forth, moving one of her hands. Then she came to a stop. "Okay let's try to go around, but I just have this feeling that whatever we're looking for is higher up."

Elsa flexed her fingers, debating for a whole half a second sending Maren away on a sled of ice. "Then we'll take a path that doesn't cook your goose."

She started to walk, and then to climb, Maren close behind her. The heat from the volcano was uncomfortable, but not dangerous yet, steam rising from Elsa's skin. She looked down, seeing the way Honeymaren sweated and struggled. At the first ledge they could rest on, she cupped Maren's face and kissed her.

Elsa blew into Maren's mouth, chilling her from the inside to the outside. "How do you feel?"

"Cold," Maren said, flexing her fingers and shivering.

"It won't last forever." Elsa took her hand and peered up through the darkness, hoping to make out where they needed to go next.

"Elsa?"

"Yes?"

Honeymaren didn't respond, but her hand in Elsa's went slack. Elsa's heart froze, her eyes falling to their hands, then to Maren's face, her eyes closed. Honeymaren slumped back against the rock face, Elsa catching her head before she cracked it open. With trembling hands she pulled Maren into her lap and buried her face into her hair. "No. No no baby no… Not now! Not you too!" Elsa gripped her tighter. "I love you."

She was alone now, just herself and this mountain. Sven and Olaf were somewhere to the south, too far away to find in time to put Maren in the sled. Anna and Kristoff were even farther away and would still be far away even if she was right next to them.

Elsa felt her power build inside her and threw her hand out to release some of it. She watched the snow fall, melting as it did so.

It wasn't safe here. Elsa released her power again, creating a slide of ice. It started to melt almost immediately, so she jumped into it, Maren still cradled in her arms. At the base of the volcano again, Elsa picked Maren up and carried her as far as she could. She must have walked for an hour, stopping frequently to rest, before she found a sheltered overhang.

First, she kissed Maren, removing the chilling effect from her, and then she built a shelter made out of ice. Something to protect Maren from the elements and the falling ash, at least long enough for Elsa to do whatever it was she was supposed to do.

If she failed, they were all dead anyway.

The thought should have caused her some alarm, but she barely felt it. Elsa could barely feel anything. It had been a problem ever since she'd lost Anna, but it had just gotten worse.

Closing her eyes, Elsa centered herself. She latched onto the way Anna had always made her feel, the warmth and sunshine and earthy tones of her sister and how much she loved her. She thought of the scent of leaves in Maren's hair and the taste of her skin, of Kristoff's laugh and Olaf's warm hugs. And Sven's soft, soft fur. She loved them, she loved them all.

Kneeling next to Maren, to stroke her hair and give her a last kiss, Elsa slipped the stuffed horse from so long ago into her arms. And she almost missed it, but there, in Maren's pocket was a folded paper. Elsa pulled it out, unfolded it and skimmed it.

Her eyes watered again and she smiled. "Thank you, Mare. I think you figured it out."

Leaving her pack behind, Elsa crawled out of the shelter. She started to jog towards the volcano, and then she started to run, creating an ice slick and jumping onto it.

Tears left trails in the ash on her cheeks as she held close to her heart the people she loved. If she forgot these things, if she forgot _love_ in all its beautiful forms, Elsa knew she'd be lost.


	17. Becoming Whole

The air burned with toxic fumes and a heat so strong that Elsa's magic could barely keep up. The ice constantly coating and recoating her skin was the only thing keeping her from being debilitatingly burned and it steamed off of her in waves not unlike Oaken's Sauna. That thought reminded her of how far _away_ her home was. How far away the Northuldra and Arendelle were. How far away _Anna_ was.

Even Honeymaren was out of her reach right now, though the physical distance was much closer. All Elsa wanted was to be in Mare's arms, or Anna's. Maybe both at once in one big group hug with Kristoff and Olaf.

The thoughts gave her something to focus on that wasn't the way her fingers ached and bled as she dragged herself up the mountain. Her knees and palms were skinned. And the heat. The _heat_

Elsa's hair clung to her scalp, neck and back, sweaty and covered in ash. Lava rumbled past, close enough that Honeymaren would have been cooked alive and even Elsa could feel that heat. Her ice steamed up more, obscuring her view, and yet she climbed, she climbed until her arms grew weak, her muscles straining to the breaking point.

And then, at last, just as Elsa feared her powers might give out and she'd be roasted alive, she reached the top. She wavered a few seconds, then sank to the ground and rested on her knees for a moment. Just a moment, just a moment to rest and to remind herself of why she was here. Elsa grasped onto those thoughts again. She grasped for Anna and Honeymaren, for the Northuldra and the people of Arendelle. And for everyone _else_ who even now lay in slumber.

She'd always tried to rely on only herself, even at the same time as placing too much pressure on Anna to be her rock. She knew now that both things were unhealthy. But having those people in her life made it a richer one.

It was just a little _harder_ than usual to feel human at the moment, with the human halves of her heart out of reach. Elsa took a breath and coughed, before humming Anna's favorite song. She realized, just then, she didn't actually know Honeymaren's, or even Kristoff's. Elsa wondered if she was a bad friend...

The mountain rocked beneath her and if she hadn't been kneeling she would have fallen over. She heard and felt the explosion of lava before she saw the smoke rising, lifting her hands to cool the air around her, and the air actually responded.

With numb fingers, Elsa fished around her pouch for the paper Mare had written on. The symbols of the elements, with Elsa at the center. The word written over, and over again.

_Whole_.

Elsa forced herself to stand on weak legs, closing her eyes, and reaching out around her, trying to draw all the moisture out of the air that she could, from as far away as the storm that still raged around the coast of this island and beyond. For all she knew, the storm stretched all the way to Arendelle.

She was the _fifth spirit_, one half of the bridge between the lands of enchantment and the world of humans. She understood now, thanks to what Mare had found, at least a part of what that meant.

It wasn't that she was simply the Snow Queen or an Ice Witch. But Elsa was _magic_ and that magic was out of balance. Ice was her primary strength and in many ways defined her life, but her powers had always extended farther than that. Elsa realized that to be complete, to find balance, to be _whole_...

With a thought, she could _feel_ Gale faintly, far away and sense the presence of the Nokk as it raced around Arendelle frantically searching for her. Even Bruni was a faint spark at the back of her mind. And … _Anna_, she could almost hear the beat of her sleeping heart.

Elsa reached out to calm them and she _understood_. She had tamed the Nokk and braved that ancient beast and wasn't ice simply frozen water? She could pull the moisture from the air and relive the memories it had known! Did not a blizzard require the wind? Could she not control the heat around her and bring the temperature down; or _up_, linking her in a way to the fire that now raged beneath this mountain?

And Earth … well Earth was her sister most of all, but Earth was physical, sturdy strength, the steady demeanor that had served her for so long. A connection that Elsa had unknowingly used to build her palace and ensure it was on even ground without realizing that was what she was doing.

To be that balance and that bridge, Elsa needed to understand how they all worked, together and separately and tap into those parts of herself. Elsa could not control the other spirits and elements, but she could work with them, listen to them just as she had listened and worked with the people of Arendelle as Queen.

Listen, in the same way she was reaching out to the spirits she knew; but those weren't the only spirits who could be listening.

Elsa held her arms out, a ray shooting into the sky above her in a dazzling display of fractals and light. It spun and twisted and then shattered. And the storm swept in, swirling around her. Rain and sleet and snow battered at her and she drew it all into her until she could hold the storm in the palm of her hand. The water and the wind and the fire of lightning and the ground beneath her holding her steady.

Light flashed between her palms, a steadily fading thunder beat.

The mountain stopped rumbling, the ground stilling beneath her weary feat. And the temperature dropped as the lava cooled and Elsa breathed freely for the first time in days.

She let the storm go and watched the sun rise, lifting her head to feel it on her soot-covered face.

?

There wasn't a part of Elsa's body that didn't hurt. Her fingers and hands were the worst, and wrapping them in shreds from her cloak only helped so much. Her feet, too, were in agony, though she at least had been wearing boots for this trip. The cold might rarely be a problem but jagged volcanic rocks stopped for no woman.

Elsa's muscles protested with every step she took down the mountain, and it seemed to take a lot longer than it had to climb, even with most of the ash having mysteriously vanished. It was over, at least. But she wouldn't really believe it until she saw her Honeymaren's eyes open and gazing at her. Until Anna was safe in her arms. Until she could walk through Arendelle and the Forest and see for herself everyone was okay.

The sun was at its zenith by the time she found where she'd sheltered Honeymaren. The ice was still intact, though pitted from the ash that no longer coated it, and Elsa pulled it away with the full force of her magic, sending the whole structure collapsing down a hill and into a tree.

Maren lay on her side, wrapped around the little stuffed toy. At the sound, she stirred, rolling onto her back and then sitting up bolt straight. "Elsa!"

Elsa fell to her knees, the last of her energy gone. Maren was at her side a heartbeat later, arms around her, hands stroking her ash-caked hair. Elsa coughed and clung to her. "You found the answer."

"Wholeness," Maren whispered. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like shit." Elsa rolled so that her head was in Maren's lap and she could look up at her. Maren blinked once, then started to laugh, and after a moment, Elsa joined her.

"Please stop almost killing yourself, I like taking care of you but this is getting ridiculous."

"I don't want to make this a common thing either."

Mare stroked Elsa's nose. "You need a bath."

"I think we both do, but the streams are probably clogged with ash." Elsa wasn't sure if what she'd done would have somehow cleaned the water, but the _air_ certainly felt clean and the only ash she could see around them was that stuck to the both of them.

Mare hummed in thought, "We can always go check. Make a little sled I can pull you in."

Elsa did as she was asked, though she was distracted by a very important question. "Mare, what's your favorite song?"

"Uhm." Maren gently picked Elsa up and laid her on the sled, and started to pull it behind her. "I like a lot of music, but I'd have to say my favorite is one my father used to sing."

"Not a lullaby?"

She looked back at Elsa and smiled, "No, not a lullaby. A song for calling the reindeer, actually."

"Can you sing it for me?" Elsa asked.

"I will," Mare promised. "But let's get cleaned up first."

The stream turned out to be very clean, as though the Volcano's anger had never been. Elsa was too tired to think overly hard about it, and too tired, even, to enjoy Honeymaren stripping the both of them down. She tried to joke, "I'm a little too tired for that."

"I want to wash our clothing too," Mare said, though she flushed. "... how do you really feel?"

"I already told you." Elsa helped Maren get her to her feet as best she could, and leaned against her.

"I mean… "

Elsa interrupted her. "How do I feel about this being my fault too, like everything else?"

"I'm sor-" Maren quieted when Elsa put a finger over her mouth.

"I'm a little worried what other surprises are in store for us, but I'm not… angry at myself. I was born to protect, and if I'm out of balance, I _can't_ do what I was born to do." She smiled at Mare, and hoped she'd understand that she'd never lie to her, "and I mean that."

"Okay. So what does it mean for the future?"

Now that was a good question, one that Elsa pondered as Honey helped her into the chilly stream. The water washing over her made her want to make lewd sounds, but she settled for leaning her head back and letting Maren clean her hair with her fingers and a brush. "I'm the Snow Queen, Mare. My element will always be ice, and I'll always be in my element in the heart of winter. But winter can't exist without the other seasons and the elements are all intertwined."

"I was right." Mare leaned over and kissed Elsa's forehead, then scooted further into the stream, seemingly determined to scrub them both raw. Her teeth weren't chattering yet, but Elsa kept an eye on that.

She nodded, and lifted her hands out of the water. Carefully, Elsa unwound her makeshift bandages and let the stream carry them away. Her knuckles were cracked and most of her nails were broken. "For climbing a volcano, this isn't that bad."

Mare gently inspected them. "It's still pretty bad…" Her eyes flicked up to Elsa's, and as if realizing it for the first time, she whispered, "You really are mortal…"

For reasons Elsa wasn't even sure of herself, she'd never expected not to be. She opened her arms wide, and Maren cuddled in against her, pressing hard and shivering in the cold water. Elsa held her close, ignoring the occasional jab of pain from her hands and everywhere else. "I'm human, just like you."

Slowly, she sat up, "Almost. Get out of the water and dry off before you get sick."

"According to Anna, you can get sick too." Maren tilted her head, "Guess that was a give-away."

"Yes, but I don't get sick from cold water and chattering teeth. Out!"

Mare held up her hands and climbed out of the stream, affording Elsa the best possible view as she did so. She turned back and flexed her hands and fingers several times, while Mare struggled with cleaning their clothing.

Then, finally, she got to her feet and carefully climbed out as well. Elsa felt like she had her energy back, and she looked past Maren at the mountain in the distance. It smoked, a little, but if Elsa tilted her head and looked a little to the left, she could tell the volcano was fast asleep.

?

Honeymaren had always known Elsa was mortal, but knowing and _knowing_ were different things. And seeing Elsa's cuts and bruises had put all that into stark relief. It was a miracle of magic that she'd gotten away without any burns. While Elsa had drawn the water out of their clothing, Maren had run her hands carefully over Elsa's body, searching for unseen hurts or hidden wounds. She placed a kiss on her shoulder, and her hip, and near her knee. Elsa had been amused, and her good spirits made Maren's rise as well.

They'd done it. The sun was up, Maren was awake, and that had to mean the others were too, right? She wanted to get home, to check on Ryder and the herd and all her friends and family. And if she wanted to get home that badly, she knew Elsa might be kind of losing her mind at wanting to see Anna. "I think that's dry enough, sweetheart. We should get as far as we can before dark."

Elsa nodded, kneeling to pick up her trousers and shirt. Maren stared at her, thinking of a few dozen ways they could celebrate.

"Oh good," she whispered to herself, tying the laces of her tunic tightly.

One leg in her pants and the other out, Elsa straightened to look at her, brow quirked,. "What's good?"

"Just having thoughts."

Elsa smiled, buttoning up her shirt and then using her powers to add her trademark sparkling style. She reached for her boots. "Oh? What kind of thoughts?"

"Like how I want to make love to you while basking in the sun."

Losing her balance, Elsa toppled over, her boot half on her foot. She laughed nervously, then tugged it on the rest of the way. "Those are good thoughts."

Maren walked over, reaching down to help Elsa up. She let go once Elsa was standing and rubbed her arm. "Assuming you still _want_ that with me. I know neither of us were really thinking straight that day-"

"Of course I do," Elsa gingerly touched Mare's face. "Now, more than ever. And not just the … " Her face grew heated, "Love making. I wasn't lying when I said I wanted a relationship. I did then. And I do now."

Heart in her throat, Maren said, "Get your boot on so I can kiss you properly."

"How does that make anything proper?"

"I don't know, it sounded good in my head."

Elsa laughed, getting up once her boots were on. She shook her hands out, then reached for Maren.

Giving her that proper kiss, Maren touched their foreheads together. "We should wrap your hands again."

"A little suffering is worth being able to touch you," Elsa said.

This time Maren was the one with the nervous laughter. But the last thing she wanted was Elsa suffering for her. At least not _this_ kind of suffering. Maren shook her head with a smile, "Nope, we're wrapping your hands, and then we're going to find Olaf and Sven and go home."

Elsa nodded, and looked at the volcano again, then the position of the sun. "So if we head towards the south slope of the volcano that village _should_ be south and east of that. We can probably just skim the coast, it would be easiest."

"Are you up for it?" Maren gently took hold of Elsa's hands and started to wrap them. "Or do you want to rest longer?"

"Yes. I'm so ready to go _home_."


	18. Aurora

It was a bright day, the sun warming Anna as she lay in a field of flowers with her eyes closed. It really couldn't get much better than this; she had everything she wanted and needed; Kristoff lay nearby, his head next to hers and body perpendicular. Elsa lay on the other side in a similar position, and forming the last part of their compass was Olaf.

She opened her eyes, and _everything_ was sore. Anna was sore in places that she didn't know existed, muscles complaining, her head pounding and mouth as dry as the desert. Despite the soreness, she actually felt really well rested, "What…"

Kristoff was leaning over her, eyes wide with concern and a relieved smile on chapped, cracked lips. He was thinner than she'd ever seen him, but he was also the most beautiful handsome thing she'd ever seen in her life. With a cry, she sat up and wrapped her arms around him, holding on tight and afraid if she let go this would all prove to be a nightmare and they'd all be asleep.

"Your Majesty."

She lifted her head from Kristoff's shoulder as Doctor Engberg approached, Soyun at her side. The women both looked exhausted, and Anna suspected they resemble what she'd looked like before the illness had claimed her. "How long was I out for?"

"Two days, give or take." Soyun sat on the bed next to Anna, and Anna pulled her into an awkward one-armed hug without letting go of Kristoff. "Everyone started to wake up a few hours ago. Kristoff was the first, and he's been at your side ever since."

Anna turned her head towards her fiance. "Thank you, honey."

"I wouldn't leave unless I absolutely had to," he promised.

"She took good care of you when she wasn't busy trying to keep the country from collapsing," Engberg remarked.

"Food needs-"

Kristoff put his finger over Anna's mouth, "They've got this, Anna."

"Once you've eaten you can work yourself into exhaustion." Soyun's tone made Anna wonder how it had gone while she was asleep.

She squeezed her again. "You'll have to fill me in on what I missed, but please tell me there's still an Arendelle."

"I did everything I thought you would do." Soyun pushed herself wearily to her feet. "But I am glad you're awake, I can't imagine how you were able to keep this all up as long as you did."

"Shoulders," Anna said, smiling at her. "There's an old saying about standing on the shoulders of giants. I couldn't have done it without you, and everyone else in this kingdom who went above and beyond."

She fished around in her clothing until she pulled out her pad, scribbling a note, and the date.

"What's that?" Kristoff asked.

"A reminder," Anna said, flipping the pad closed. So that she wouldn't forget to give credit where it was due, and not just to Soyun, Kai and the doctor.

A glance out the window gave her a different reminder; Olaf's tree, frozen by Elsa's magic. It still stood, pristine and glittering and surrounded by snow from the storm that had passed. Anna sagged against Kristoff as relief flooded through her. "Elsa's alive."

"How do you know?" He pulled his head away, the question more out of curiosity than any kind of disbelief. He was as relieved as she was.

"I just do." She pointed, "Besides, the holiday tree Olaf put up is still frozen."

Despite the proof (to her eyes) and the feeling (deep in her heart), Anna wasn't ready to celebrate just yet. Elsa was alive, but she could be wounded, or hurt, or trapped somewhere. Anna wanted nothing more than to sail out to find her and bring her home.

Anna knew that wasn't at all an option, and it _grated_ at her. Despite that, she wasn't angry about it; Arendelle needed her, and she would not abandon her people.

She wouldn't abandon _Elsa_ either. "When you're feeling up to it, I want you to find the Admiral. She's to prepare one of the ships to sail, whichever one she deems appropriate for this. If Elsa doesn't return within a week, she's going to go looking for her." And maybe Elsa would come back before then and it could just be a welcome party. With fireworks.

Anna liked that idea better.

"That's a great idea. But for now you need to rest."

"Rest?" Anna shook her head, "I've been sleeping for two days what I need is food and _Kristoff_! Look at you! You need food! Water! You're emaciated! What are you doing up lie down lie down and eat something for the love of God!"

Kristoff laughed, but didn't argue as she pulled him onto the cot with her and made him lay down. If her muscles protested this much and she felt this week from just two days without food, she couldn't imagine how Kristoff was even up and about.

There was still so much to do; get the search mission ready, get a message to the Northuldra to see how they were doing, do a headcount and find out if anyone needed extra help in recovering. They needed to take stock of supplies and - Kristoff looped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Anna squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath.

All that could wait. Right now, Kristoff was the important thing, and regaining her own strength so she could give Soyun a much needed break.

For just a few hours and a meal or two, at least.

?

Honeymaren was so used to traveling at night that she didn't think to stop for several hours after the sun had set. Elsa didn't seem to mind either, but eventually, even with the stars to guide them, it was too dark to travel safely.

The sky was crisp and clear, for the first time in days, so Maren didn't mind sleeping beneath it. What she minded was how energetic she felt. She'd barely slept a day and her body just wasn't ready to crawl into bed yet, even with the beautiful woman curled up at her side.

"You're bouncing."

Maren winced, and stilled herself, "Sorry. Go back to sleep."

Elsa shifted, moving until she had her head in Maren's lap. "I'm having trouble sleeping."

"Sorry."

"No, it's not you. I'm just… You would think after everything I could sleep for a week, but all I can think about is getting back and checking on Anna and Kristoff and Ryder. I want to find Olaf and Sven."

Honeymaren chewed on her lip, finding Elsa's frustrated expression to be very cute. "I want the same thing, but it's going to take a couple of days just to get back to the coast."

Sven would make it faster, she knew, or a horse, or something. Gently, Maren stroked her fingers through Elsa's hair. It was still a little coarse and gritty from their trials, but Honeymaren didn't mind. "I don't think teleportation comes with the whole spirit thing."

"It doesn't," Elsa agreed. "If the Nokk could hear me, we could get to the coast quicker. We could take him all the way back to Arendelle but that would mean leaving Sven and Olaf behind, which I'm not going to do."

She seemed to deflate, "But if he didn't hear me while I was in the stream, we must still be too far away from Arendelle or the forest. I wish I could just get a message to Anna..."

"Or maybe there's just no easy way to get from the ocean to that stream," Maren pointed out. Her fingers trailed to Elsa's face, tracing the contours of her jaw and her cheeks, and then caressing the shell of her ears.

"Mm…" Elsa's eyes fluttered closed and she scooted in closer, "You're trying to distract me."

"Is it working?" Maren grinned as Elsa turned her head into the touch.

Elsa squirmed, "Maybe."

Maren's hand moved from Elsa's ear and back along her jaw. She touched her throat, lightly grazing her thumb down the sensitive skin there. Elsa swallowed, breath hitching and her eyes half-lidded. It was enough to distract _Maren_. Maren's fingers touched the delicately raised bump of Elsa's collarbone and she followed it up to her right shoulder.

Her lips buzzed with the need to follow her fingers along Elsa's skin, but that would either require moving, or an inhuman level of flexibility. She brought her hand back to Elsa's face and Elsa turned her head towards it, pressing her lips into Maren's palm. Maren's heart started to beat its way out of her chest; so she pulled Elsa up, kissing her, Elsa's hand pushing instantly at Maren's tunic.

Cold fingers brushed at Honeymaren's waist and under her tunic, causing a shiver to run through her that didn't really have all that much to do with the cold. Nor did that do anything to cool how heated she was feeling, like she'd been set aflame by that look in Elsa's eyes.

"Samantha?"

A voice startled them both, Maren rolling to her feet and brandishing a branch as Elsa held her hands up, magical energy swirling around them.

The owner of the voice waddled forward. "Elsa! Honeymaren!"

"Olaf!" Elsa cried and dropped to her knees, enveloping him tightly in her arms. Maren relaxed, looking past him and hoping to see Sven.

There were worse things to be interrupted by, and as soon as she saw the reindeer she hugged him. "I'm so glad you're both okay."

Elsa looked up from Olaf and smiled at Sven. "Me too. How did you find us?"

"I don't know." Olaf shrugged his shoulder, snuggling into Elsa's arms, "I woke up in a cave, sandwiched between Sven and a family of puffins!" He sighed happily. "Anna loves sandwiches."

"She does," Maren agreed. Sven looked like he needed a bath, but that would probably have to wait. She glanced at Elsa, who smiled apologetically. Maren mouthed, "It's okay."

Elsa raised her eyebrows and smirked like it was some kind of promise.

As she found a brush to at least give Sven some kind of cleaning, Maren had a chance to consider what might come next for them after they returned. She moved to the other side of Sven so she could gaze at Elsa as she worked.

Once everyone was safe and they had a chance to slow down, what came next? They were on the same page, but that didn't always mean anything.

Elsa's hands were animated as she told Olaf what he'd missed, her powers granting a visual element to the story that was beautiful to witness. She sighed, oddly reassured by the smile Elsa gave her when she noticed she was watching.

Sven butted his head against her hand and the brush, waggling his eyebrows at her. Maren swatted at him and whispered, "Don't you say a word."

?

"My friends!" Ohnaka greeted them jubilantly, and would have hugged her if Elsa hadn't remained on Sven's back precisely to avoid that kind of greeting. Instead, it was an unsuspecting Maren who got engulfed in a hug.

Elsa exchanged a smile and nod with Tyra and Sam. "It's good to see all three of you."

Once she was certain Ohnaka wasn't going to invade her personal space, Elsa slipped off of Sven and patted his neck. "Bet you're excited to see Kristoff again. We just need to figure out how to get home now."

"That! Would require a ship." Ohnaka folded his arms, turning to look past the village and to the sea beyond. "I've put some thought into this, because such things require a lot of thought and-"

"We're not stealing any ships," Tyra interrupted.

"And we are not stealing _any_ ships! Right! Of course we aren't! Doing such a thing would be an act of piracy and I! Am not! A pirate! Any longer."

He whirled around before Elsa could figure out what that last part was. "It is a bit far to swim, however."

"Yes…" Elsa had spent what coin they'd had left to cover the supplies and wagon and seriously doubted anyone would be willing to take her word on Arendelle paying for their passage. She'd been so focused on seeing Anna at the end of the road that she hadn't given much thought as to how they were going to get there.

There was wreckage all along the coast line, from _Bridger_ and maybe a dozen other ships that had gone down in recent years. Elsa started walking towards the rocky beach, barely hearing Maren calling her name.

She reached the water, the waves lapping at her toes, and looked at it. It was calm, and she knew she couldn't _fight_ the sea. But she could work with it. Elsa turned back towards the beach, and saw that Honeymaren and the others were standing above her curiously.

Elsa tabbed her foot on the ground. Ice spread from her feet, racing along the beach until it burst upward in a shower of snow crystals and ice. The snow fell away, revealing the skeletal framework of a ship. Elsa flicked her wrists, pulling old planks towards the frame, creating decks and cabins and even an entire cargo hold, using ice to fill in the gaps where there was no wood of the right shape or size.

Two masts grew out of the new deck, sprouting spars like branches on a tree, and on the stern was emblazoned a delicate snowflake. Mounted on the bow was a gleaming figure of ice and snow that looked suspiciously like Honeymaren.

Satisfied, Elsa created an ice slick and moved her hands to guide the ship into the water.

"She's beautiful," Ohnaka murmured, startling her.

She glanced at him and smiled, "Thank you. So… we have a crew, and we have a ship."

"We do not have a ship." Ohnaka pointed at the vessel, "A beautiful lady like that, she needs a _name_."

"I guess you're right." The problem was that Elsa was drawing a blank. She'd named her royal ship after Anna and it seemed like bad luck to have two ships named after one person.

The sun glinted off of the hull, striking it in such a way as to spread warm color throughout the ice. Reds and golds and oranges. Inspired, Elsa traced a word in the air before her, and a name was carved into the bow. _Aurora_.

It was past noon by the time they set sail, the Ohnaka's crew unfurling ice-coated sails that were filled with a wind that responded to Elsa's polite request for help.

She stood on the bow, watching it cut through the water, occasionally catching sight of a large, dark shadow passing beneath them. Elsa smiled.

"What is it?" Maren slipped her arm around her and Elsa leaned in close.

"We have an escort."

"A friend?"

"For now." Elsa turned her head, pressing her lips to Maren's cheeks, "A natural force exists, it is neither friend nor enemy."

"But something to be respected," Maren said. She brushed her fingers along Elsa's bangs, tucking hair behind her ears. She wondered if Maren was going to call her a force of nature; she felt like one and remembered that detachment. Just because Elsa knew who she was supposed to be didn't mean she wanted to lose her humanity. But Maren simply leaned in, touching her forehead to Elsa's.

Elsa relaxed, savoring the connection between them. The wind was in her hair, the world smelled of salt and sea, and Maren was so close she could taste her breath. Elsa didn't want to move from this spot, from a feeling of near perfection. Taking Maren's hand, she threaded their fingers together as a wave of joy swept through her. Maren pulled her close, their bodies flush together and Elsa kissed her, the fingers of her free hand tenderly touching her face.


	19. Homecoming

Anna had never been more grateful for her notebooks in her life. The habit she'd picked up trying to not replicate her sister's mistakes in overworking herself had more than paid off. Besides the notes and ideas she'd made so she could deal with them after the crisis was over, she'd also made note of most of the things she needed to do related to the crisis itself. In part for the historical records but also in part because of the logistical undertaking that the recovery would require.

The treasury had been hit hard, but not as hard as she feared. They'd still be able to run the telegraphy wire; now that they'd experienced a crisis Anna was of the mind that having quick communications would be beneficial in future emergencies.

And depending on how quickly Arendelle recovered their trade power she might not have to wait as long as she feared before beefing up their Navy. If there was one thing Anna was certain of it was that, sooner or later, the Southern Isles and their allies would respond to the sinking of their fleet.

But that was a problem for the Admiral to worry about right now and Anna had more pressing concerns.

There were still a few dozen people too weak to move, and a hundred more that wouldn't be returning to work for at least another week. Anna had to see to it they were cared for while praying the work that needed to be done could still be done. The Grandmother Brigade was doing their best, but the poor women could use a break.

Anna would roll up her sleeves and work the fields and … whatever … if she had to. Whatever she had to do, whoever she had to be, she was Queen of Arendelle and she-

"Your Majesty."

"Yes, Kai?" She darted her eyes.

"Your fiance wishes to see you."

"Kristoff?" Anna looked down at her notebook and flipped through it, though there was really no question that she'd go to him, "But there's still so much I have to do today."

"He was quite insistent." Kai had a look in his eyes that told Anna that maybe it wasn't _Kristoff_ that was insistent but kept that thought to herself. It was just her steward's way of making sure she took time for herself. A habit he'd picked up with Elsa, and she supposed that they really could be two sisters, one mind.

"Okay." She ripped out a paper and handed it to him, "Can you take care of these tasks for me? Delegate responsibility as you see fit, I trust you. "

Kai smiled at her in his victory, "Of course, Your Majesty. I believe I saw Soyun around and I know she will be glad to help."

Allowing him that victory, Anna bounded through the hallways and into her chambers, where she'd had Kristoff moved as soon as Doctor Engberg had cleared him. He wasn't quite ready to be up and about all that often, so Anna had wanted him comfortable, and where she could watch him. Besides, he'd be sharing that bed officially eventually anyway and had been unofficially sleeping in it for awhile now so she didn't really see any point in putting him elsewhere. It might be a scandal but Anna was pretty sure Arendelle wasn't going to sweat it after the past few weeks.

"Hey sweetie. How are you doing?" She flopped onto the bed next to him and smiled tiredly, "Did you really send Kai looking for me?"

"I did." He patted the bed next to him, and Anna scooted up until she could curl up against his side. He was a lot thinner than she liked but knew he'd be chomping at the bit before long to be up and about. "How long do you think until Elsa and Sven get back?"

"A few more days, maybe? I'm holding off on the search party a little. I was looking over some of the notes Honeymaren left behind and doing some math. I figured a couple of days to get to a ship, then … " Anna shrugged, nuzzling her nose into his side, "They have to sail back, and there could be storms or whatever. But we have to have faith. Elsa will come back to us."

She lifted her head to look at him. "They did it. You're proof of that! So we have to have faith that they'll come home to us. I'm sure Elsa didn't anger any gods or anything."

Kristoff looked concerned, so Anna clarified, "I was reading one of the books from the library that Olaf was reading. Well, re-reading it since I read it as a kid. It's called the Odyssey, and the main character angered the god of the sea, so he spends the next ten years trying to get home which … oh God why did I pick _that_ one to read?!"

Just the thought of Elsa being gone for a decade or longer was enough to send Anna into a panic spiral. Only Kristoff's gentle coaxing and back rubbing brought her out of it before she could _really_ panic.

"She's coming home, she's not going to be lost at sea for ten years. Or even one year. Or at all."

"You're right, I just… What I if just spoke that into being? Elsa is a spirit and I'm half of that spirit aren't I? Something like that anyway."

"I don't think it works like that."

"Still, it's _totally_ a bad idea to tempt Fate." Anna blew hair out of her face and then tried to tuck it back into a braid, and then called out to any potentially ornery gods that might be listening, "Elsa is not at all gonna be lost at sea for ten years and will come home this week and Arendelle is going to have an awesome fall and winter and summer and-"

A notebook on the end table fluttered as a breeze came in through the window. Gale spun around the room frantically, like some kind of tasmanian devil. Anna slipped off the bed and held her hands out, "Whoa Gale! It's okay! What is it?"

The wind spirit seemed to respond to her, picking up her braid and undoing it completely.

"What are you… Elsa?!" She ran to the window and peered out to the fjord. Distantly, almost as if it were a mirage, she could make out sails that glittered like a glacier in the sun.

Feeling simultaneously elated and also like she might puke a little, Anna rushed to the bed, grabbing the wheelchair on the way. "They're back! Come on! We can still make it to the dock before they get in!"

With an assist from Gale, Kristoff was able to get into the wheelchair. Anna pushed it down the hallway, all but racing for the exit and swerving for the dock so fast Kristoff nearly tumbled out into the water.

But they made it safely in time for Elsa's ship to come completely into view.

"That's definitely not the ship they left with," Kristoff noted.

"I don't know." Anna tilted her head, "Kinda looks like it's _part_ of the ship they left in. There's gonna be a story in that!"

She could just imagine what had happened, but felt guilty even doubting for a little bit that she'd see her sister again.

They'd both have a story to share, Anna thought. Elsa's adventure and her own in Arendelle holding everything together. The battle at sea, the sickness, _everything_. Anna's chest tightened, but she was strangely proud of herself, and she hoped Elsa would be proud too.

The ship had barely docked when Elsa raced down the gangplank and into Anna's arms. Anna hugged her so tightly that she was afraid one or both of them would burst. She flailed, blindly, until she got Olaf in on the hugging action too. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sven wrapping around Kristoff like a cat and inched the three of them close enough to include the rest of the men in her life.

She looked behind Elsa, smiling at Honeymaren, and held an arm out in invitation.

?

It felt _really_ good to be back in Arendelle. The late summer breeze rustled through Elsa's hair as she walked next to Anna. Every once in a while she'd lean in and put her arm around her sister, just to reassure herself that she was there and okay and _alive_. Elsa knew she'd never quite let go of her penchant for worrying about her sister just as she knew that Anna would always worry about her.

It was oddly reassuring.

"What do you think the Southern Isles will do?" Anna asked, glancing at Elsa.

Elsa shook her head, "I don't know. They're going to be very upset that you sunk their ship and Faronda won't let that lie either. But they fired on Corona first and encroached into Arendelle's waters."

"Do you think there'll be a war? I mean, I keep thinking about that, about where all this could lead. Arendelle is in no way ready for a conflict and I don't think I have the stomach for it. And I didn't have powers and-"

"Anna." Elsa stopped, and took her hand, "You led our people into battle during an epidemic and you won. _No_ one will forget that. Those cannon shots have been heard around the world and what they're saying is that Queen Anna has _teeth_. It's not me they need to worry about. You did all of this with only the power of your heart."

Anna chewed on her lip. "There is so much responsibility, and everything sort of hangs in the balance of me not screwing up."

"If it makes you feel better, I understand exactly what that feels like." Powers or not, being Queen was responsibility and everything hanging in the balance of not screwing up.

"Can I ask you something?" Anna swung their hands back and forth, as she grew deep in thought.

Elsa wondered what it could be, but just nodded and waited for Anna to ask her.

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I realized something during all of this and what you've just said has reminded me of that." She squared her shoulders and lifted her eyes to Elsa's, "If something happens, like we're attacked or a war is declared, do you think you could wait until when, or if, I ask for your help?"

For half a second, Elsa wanted to take that the wrong way, her head spinning slightly as her chest ached. But she took a breath, and allowed the request the space it needed to breath in her head. "You don't want to have to rely on me for every emergency."

"Like _political_ type stuff. I mean I still value your advice and your opinion, but if I'm going to be Queen, I have to do it my way, for good or ill."

Okay it still hurt a little, but Elsa understood where Anna was coming from and what she meant. She squeezed Anna's hand. "I understand. But I have to protect the North and I'll always act with that in mind." Then she winked, "If I _happen_ to see something that could threaten Arendelle that's not a matter of state, I make no promises not to do something about it."

"Who needs to worry about acts of God when your big sister is the Fifth Spirit," Anna joked. She sobered just a little bit, "So just to make sure we understand each other, I ask for help if I need it for matters of state, but if it's like some giant monster or the kingdom is on fire or something you _really_ don't need to wait for permission. Deal?"

Elsa grinned, "Deal."

"Your Majesty?"

Elsa turned and almost answered, before she snapped her mouth shut. Anna noticed and gave her a side-long, amused look, "Yes?"

"Our messenger to Corona will be leaving shortly, but he wished to speak with you before he left."

Anna's face lit up, "Oh good! I wanted to talk to Scott before he left!"

"Scott?" Elsa asked.

"He was on the ship that tried to help us, he and some of the others are returning home and delivering a thank you message and request for additional aid to King Frederic," Anna explained. "I have a gift for him, too.

"Mare is eager to get back and check on her brother and I have to admit I'm eager too." Elsa reached for Anna, pulling her into a hug, "So I think we'll leave a little early today. When do you want to do game night?"

Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa, burying her face in her shoulder, "I wish you could stay longer but I get it." She pulled back a little and smiled through teary eyes. "Why don't you two come back in … two weeks? Not for game night, just for… just to hang out. That should give us both time to get our houses in order."

"I think that's a good idea. There's so much I have to tell you about the journey."

"Me too." Anna smiled lopsidedly, "I do have one thing I need to know before I let you go."

"What's that?"

"When's the wedding?"

"Wedding?" Elsa took a step back, eyes wide.

Anna shook her head and laughed, "Nevermind. But if you ever do decide to propose don't take any advice from either Ryder or Kristoff."

Voice a little breezy, Elsa replied, "I'll keep that in mind."

?

"I was about ready to leave without you," Honeymaren said, watching as Elsa approached her. "But I thought you'd just catch up to me really fast anyway."

Elsa laughed, brushing Maren's cheek with her knuckles before she leaned in and gave her a deep, almost longing kiss. For the space of an eternity Honeymaren forgot almost everything else, the taste of Elsa's lips a familiar comfort on her tongue.

When she pulled away, she realized that there were people staring at them, gawking really. "I take it," she said roughly. "That they're not used to seeing you display affection like that."

"They're more used to it than they used to be," Elsa admitted, face red. She took Maren's hands, "Let's get back home. I'm sure Ryder is out of his mind wondering if you're okay."

"He cares about you too, you know. Not… Not in the same way I do, I mean."

"We had that conversation," Elsa said.

"You did?"

Elsa nodded, guiding Maren out towards the fjord, "Mm. Remember when he was asking me what I thought about you?"

"_Oh_!" Maren grinned. That day felt like it had been a century ago. They'd left the Forest on a quest and now that they were going back she wasn't entirely sure who they were, or what they were to each other. They'd talked about it, when death was on the line, but things would return to normal now.

Maren just didn't think she could go back to a normal where she could pretend she wasn't in love with Elsa.

"That was only a few weeks ago, but it feels like forever," Elsa murmured, watching as the Nokk splashed out of the ocean. She stroked his mane, her powers turning him to a mixture of ice and snow, and then swung up onto his back and offered her hand to Honeymaren.

"I was just thinking that." She climbed up behind Elsa, sliding her arms around her and snuggling close as they started to ride up the water.

"Can I ask you something?" Elsa asked.

"Anything."

There was a smile in Elsa's voice, despite obvious nerves, "How does courting work among the Northuldra?"

"Courting?" Maren asked, confused.

"Oh. I guess you'd have different words for it." Elsa tensed against Maren, so she started to rub her back.

"What does that mean, and maybe I can tell you?"

"Romance?" Elsa tried, "When you're interested in someone. Like Kristoff and Anna. What is it called? Are there any rituals? Like flowers and chocolates, going out to dance together…"

Those were all things they'd done together, Maren realized, "Wait, have you been trying to do courting with me this whole time?"

"Not on purpose!" Elsa replied. She swiveled around to face Maren, a dawning realization on her face, "Oh my god, I think maybe I have been."

Maren laughed and pecked her lips, "There are words and rituals. Sometimes they involve reindeer, and they do involve gifts and flowers. There are a few ceremonies; a promise ceremony that's something less formal than Kristoff and Anna's engagement, and there are weddings too."

She wet her lips, trying to imagine what an Arendellean wedding would be like. She supposed she'd find out if she attended Anna's. While she thought she'd be invited she didn't want to _assume_ anything until it happened.

"Oh. That's not too different." Elsa turned back around, and Maren could hear the smile in her voice, "The Northuldra are so unique, but it's nice that these things seem to be universal."

"It's like music and dancing, Elsa. The steps might be different but it's still something beautiful."

Elsa laugh was ridiculously beautiful and though she had no words in response Maren knew she'd said the right thing. Silence fell on them, the only sound the Nokk's hooves on the water and the wind rushing past.

Before too long she could see the forest and a feeling swept over her not unlike waking from a nightmare. She was home. _They_ were home and Maren was so eager to feel the forest beneath her feet that she jumped off the Nokk as soon as they'd reached the village. Elsa dismounted as well, taking a moment to thank the Nokk, but Maren was already running towards a circle of people emerging from one of the goahti.

"Ryder!" She all but flung herself at her brother, lifting him up in her arms and spinning him around. "You're okay!"

"Yeah! That was a long nap wasn't it." He grinned at her, "Funny how I still feel tired."

"It was the sick kind of sleep," Haladreth said, smiling in their direction. Unlike Ryder she didn't look all that tired, but they both looked as thin and ashen as Kristoff had.

"How is Yelana?" Elsa asked.

"I'll be fine when everyone stops fussing over me." Yelana pushed her way to the front of the growing crowd of people and looked incredibly surprised when Elsa hugged her.

"How did you figure it out?" Ryder asked, pulling away from Maren so he could hug Elsa too.

"That old book of runes had the key. It just took me a little while to understand the meaning." Maren was doing a little headcount as they talked, terrified that maybe they'd been too late. But as far as she could tell, everyone was accounted for.

"It was a balance thing," Elsa said and Maren suspected that they'd be telling the story over dinner that night.

There were more hugs and greetings, and a profound sense of _relief_ that permeated the air and left Maren feeling light on her feet.

?

It was very late by the time Elsa entered her goahti. She and Maren had taken turns describing what had happened on their adventure, with an assist from Elsa's powers to set the scene. She wondered what it might be like a hundred years from now; if the people might gather around the fire and share the story of the sleeping sickness.

Elsa feared Honeymaren's role might be lost, and had made a special point of bringing her up every chance she could.

She knew they would never have made it without her, if she'd even had figured out which direction to go in the first place.

To Elsa's surprise, her home had been restored. All her things had been stored in Ryder and Maren's goahti before she'd left so the Northuldra would have ice to keep their sleepers hydrated, but someone had obviously taken great care to put her things back. None of it was exactly where it belonged and there was a bit of a pile on the floor but she really appreciated the effort. And was glad they hadn't really tried to figure it out; Elsa had a _system_ and she would have had to rearrange everything anyway.

"Elsa?" Maren knocked on the door frame and peeked her head in. "They forgot something."

"Come in," Elsa said, turning to face her.

Maren stepped inside and held out a maroon scarf. Elsa smiled and reached for it, "Thank you. I've been meaning to bring it back to Anna. I like the idea of us each holding onto it for part of the year."

"It sounds like a nice tradition," Maren said.

Elsa tucked some hair behind her ear, wondering if Maren remembered when she'd told her she wanted her to stay forever. That feeling hadn't changed and if anything it had gotten stronger.

"We should turn in," Maren added. "I want to help with the reindeer tomorrow."

"That's a good idea." Elsa glanced at the bed, then back at Maren before asking hesitantly, "And tomorrow night, we could move your things in here?"

"Yes!" Maren clapped her hand over her mouth. Elsa shook her head and started to laugh, before taking her hand and pulling her close.

With a smile, Elsa leaned in and kissed her as Gale was kind enough to blow the door closed. Almost as soon as it swung shut, Maren started to guide her towards the bed.

It was thrilling in a way, this closeness and this passion. New and exciting and filling her with emotions she was still trying to grasp.

"I told Ryder," Maren murmured as she pushed Elsa onto the bed and straddled her. "If he let anyone bother us before dawn I'll throw him in the volcano."

Elsa laughed, and gazed at her. Then, slowly but with confidence, she pulled on the laces to Maren's tunic and watched with delight as her lover slipped out of it.

Something surged within her, an emotion that grew like a cresting wave and maybe it was never something she'd searched for but it had happened and she was glad for it, "I _love_ you."

Tears sparkled in Maren's eyes, her fingers rising to Elsa's face, stroking her cheeks and brushing at her jaw. "I love you too, sweetheart."


	20. Epilogue

The deck exploded next to Anna, sending her flying through the air and crashing into the mast. She pulled herself to her feet, the cannon-fire almost as deafening as the screams of the wounded and dying.

It was all happening in slow motion; the splintering of wood and retort of the cannons, the sailors rushing across the deck.

A man died right in front of her, his face frozen in surprise.

Someone shouted her name and she looked around frantically. The sailors were all staring at her, the living and the dead both.

"It should have been you." One of them said.

Anna lifted her hand to her face and it came away slick with blood.

"Anna!" Kristoff's voice broke through the haze, and Anna's eyes snapped open.

She was laying on the ground besides the bed, tangled in her sheets. Kristoff was kneeling next to her and he gently lifted her up and put her back into bed. "Wha?"

"You were tossing and turning in your sleep," he explained.

"Just a bad dream," Anna whispered, grasping for Kristoff's arm so she could cling to it. To his comforting presence and reassuring warmth. "It's okay."

He was here, and awake and okay and and and….

She only realized she'd started crying when Kristoff pulled her into his arms and brushed his fingers at her face. He didn't say anything, simply held her and waited for her to cry it out.

Anna buried her face into his chest, getting his shirt wet and snotty but grateful he was here.

Only after the sobbing had stopped did Kristoff say anything, "It's not okay, is it."

"No." Anna shook her head, and then pulled it away to look at him. "I keep dreaming about the ship battle. I still don't know if I did the right thing. But people died, Kristoff. And I killed them. And the thing that scares me the most is I know I'd do it again if I had to. And I might have to. What if there's a _war_? Arendelle hasn't been in a war since..."

She trailed off, having been about to say 'since before Grandfather's time' which made her wonder who, exactly had started that war. Had it been Arendelle, or had that Queen been like her son?

Something else to find the truth about and the thought was an exhausting one.

"A very long time," Kristoff supplied for her.

"We have to be prepared," Anna decided. Maybe the one good thing she could say about King Runeard is that he would have been _prepared_.

She sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the notebook she kept on her night table. "While I'm not going to put Arendelle on any kind of war footing, I do want us to be _prepared_. I've already decided to double the number of our ships. So we'll need sailors; the best men and women we can find. Do you think Captain Ohnaka would be interested in a position?"

"I'm not sure I like that idea."

"He's experienced."

"He's a pirate."

"Maybe we need that kind of experience." Anna stuck her tongue out of her mouth and scribbled a few more ideas.

Kristoff sat next to her, "I'm not sure where I'm seeing the link between dreaming about how bad the battle was and…" He peeked at the paper, "Having a volunteer standing army. Are you sure that's the message we want to send?"

"We have to be prepared," Anna said again, clutching at the notebook. "_I_ have to be prepared. For everything and anything. Maybe if I'm prepared, no one will die when we're attacked."

And that was a when, in her mind. Not an if. The Southern Isles would want to make Arendelle answer for routing their ships. It didn't matter that they'd immediately saved the sailors in the water. It didn't matter that they had sent them home. "What do we know about King Jerome?"

"Not much. He's ruthless and has been rattling his sabers at his neighbors for about a year now." Kristoff looked into Anna's eyes. "How about a compromise?"

"What kind of compromise?"

"Allow citizens to volunteer for military training, to be called up in emergencies or attacks. A kind of reserve guard. We already have that system in place, kind of."

Anna took a breath, and then nodded. "Honestly I like that idea a lot better…formalize it as a militia or something. Arendelle is not…. it's not going to be…I don't want to be my grandfather."

"Anna, you're not Runeard."

"I've just been thinking. I've had time to think, now that the crisis is over. All these thoughts are rattling around inside my head and I see how _easily_ my grandfather came to be ruled by fear and how _easily_ that could be me."

Kristoff took Anna's hands, squeezing them lightly, "Runeard wouldn't have these doubts and he wouldn't question himself. You are _Anna_. Kind and gentle, beloved by our people and yet strong enough to stand not just behind them but _with_ them."

His smile made her chest soar, "I don't think you fully grasp what it meant to them to see you stand up like that. You didn't have to, but you did. I hear them talking about it. About how you held everyone together with the sickness, about sailing out to confront the blockade and then helping with the wounded after. Keep this up and you'll be legendary."

"Can you handle marrying a legendary queen?"

"I can handle marrying Anna, the woman I love, and everything that comes with it." Kristoff said, and leaned in to kiss her.

**Six Months Later**

Elsa nursed the mug on the table in front of her. She couldn't tell if it was too sweet or not sweet enough but with each taste she found she cared less and less. She lifted her eyes to Kristoff and smiled. "We should make a habit of this."

"Yeah." He grinned at her, "Having a good time?"

She nodded and took another sip of her drink. With everything that had happened since she'd abdicated, she hadn't been able to spend as much time with Kristoff as she'd have liked. It always seemed like Anna or Olaf came first, and now Honeymaren.

It really wasn't fair to him.

Granted, they hadn't talked much, mostly drinking in silence and watching the blonde woman playing a guitar and singing in the corner. But it was quality, quiet time and she'd missed it.

There was just something a little different about this kind of quiet, as opposed to that spent with Honeymaren, or alone in the forest, or even quietly reading next to Anna.

Elsa liked that it was different with all of them.

The woman finished her song and Elsa turned her attention back to Kristoff. Five years ago she'd have never expected this man to be a part of her life, let alone engaged to her sister. He was no prince, no noble, just man of the forest with a reindeer for a best friend and somehow that just made him so much _better_ than any alternative she could think about. Maybe because he was a good man, which was the most important prerequisite for any who'd marry her sister.

Something else occurred to her and she giggled so hard she snorted.

"Is there something in my teeth?"

Elsa waved her hand, covering her mouth with the other one and it took her a moment to calm down enough to speak, "I just realized, father married a Northuldra from the forest, Anna is going to marry a man of the woods and I'm in love with a Northduldran reindeer herder." She picked up her drink.

Kristoff tossed his head back and laughed. "I guess your family has a type." He wiped at his eyes and grinned at her, "So when are you going to marry Honeymaren?"

Ale went down the wrong pipe and Elsa started to cough. Kristoff jumped up and beat his palm on her back until she managed to clear her throat and wave him off. "It's a little too soon for that, don't you think?"

"Maybe," He said, hovering a bit longer until he was sure he hadn't just killed his soon-to-be sister-in-law and returned to his seat. "But you've thought about it, haven't you."

"How did you know?"

He shrugged, "Maybe because it was something I kept thinking about for like a year before I was ready to ask Anna."

A year sounded about right to Elsa, "Do you have any advice?"

"One." He held up a finger, "Don't wait for the perfect moment, it'll never come until you make it happen. Two." He held up another finger, "You've _got_ to do the reindeer thing."

"I'd look completely ridiculous," Elsa pointed out.

"Yeah, but Maren won't expect it, at all."

Kristoff was right, and Elsa sat back in the booth. Mare wouldn't expect her to ever do something like that. Maybe it would be really touching to her that Elsa would even try.

He touched her hand, taking her out of her reverie, "And three. Whatever you do, do something that's from the heart. That's the most important thing of all."

"Thank you," Elsa said, putting her other hand over his.

Nodding once, Kristoff smiled at her and then finished his drink and stood. "I promised Anna I'd get you back before it got too late, since she said she had plans."

"Should I be worried?"

"Nah, she said something about sister stuff."

"What are you going to do with your night?" Elsa got up as well, making sure to leave a generous tip for the waiter; and then put an even more generous one into the beautiful singer's hands.

"I think Sven and I will go have us time," Kristoff decided.

"Talk about true love," Elsa quipped, then took Kristoff's offered elbow for the walk back to the castle.

?

Anna sat in the secret library, legs pulled up underneath her body and a book opened in her lap. The pages were illuminated by a lamp that hung from the wall, as well as hundreds of glowing crystals that Elsa had created just for her. The combination made her feel at home and yet closer to her sister, no matter where in the world Elsa might be.

She'd just needed a little quiet time, if she was at all honest with herself. Elsa had been right, this place was an Anna place, too.

"There you are," Elsa said, her head appearing from the door, followed by the rest of her body. "Would you like to be alone a little longer?"

"Oh! No, that's okay, I was waiting for you. Where's Kristoff?"

"Bonding time with Sven, but he should be back before it's too late for a game or two."

"Good." Anna scooted over, patting the couch cushion beside her and beaming when Elsa took the seat. She set the book aside and held her arm out until Elsa snuggled in against her, "I want to have fun with all of you, but I wanted some Elsa time to myself."

"Mm, well you've got me now. Is everything okay?"

"Unlike some Queens, I actually know when I need to take a break," Anna remarked, only to get an elbow in the ribs. "Oof. Okay I deserved that. But yes, everything is okay."

Elsa giggled.

They both knew there was always some little crisis going on but as far as Anna was concerned there was nothing that needed Elsa's help and if Anna wanted advice she knew she could just ask. She was finding that, as she was figuring out her own way of ruling that she didn't need to ask as often as she had at first. Anna asked herself less and less what Elsa would do and instead focused on what _Anna_ would do.

As a nice bonus, it allowed her to just be _sisters_ with Elsa. Like right now, when they were far away from the world and all the good and bad that made it up.

To Elsa's credit, she didn't press, accepting Anna's answer. "Glad to hear it."

"Enjoy your date with Kristoff?"

"Yes. We went drinking and watched this lovely woman sing at the tavern. I know it's not advice time but you _really_ should consider asking her to play at your wedding."

"Wedding talk is not royal talk so it's allowed," Anna assured her. "And I'll sneak out this week and listen, okay?"

"That's fair." Elsa lifted her head, "You know, I never really thought about it. Weddings, that is. I knew it was a possibility I'd have to consider, with my position, but I'd always known that with my powers and all my fear that it would never be an option for me."

"Oh Elsa." Anna stroked her hair, "I know now that … love and marriage and all that isn't the end all and be all of life. But did you _ever_ consider it? Like as a day dream."

"Dreaming was dangerous," Elsa admitted. "A slippery slope to broken hearts and shattered hopes. Whether it was being with you again, or being able to hug our parents or…"

Elsa wet her lips, "Do you remember a servant girl? She left about a year before my coronation."

Anna wracked her mind. The servant situation had changed very rarely over the years though she hadn't understood why until after Elsa's coronation. With secrecy so important, they couldn't risk people talking. Besides Kai and Gerda there'd been _maybe_ five others in the castle. But it couldn't have been anyone their age; Anna would have played with her and been a lot less lonely, "Wait, wasn't there a woman named Elisabete?"

"Yes, that was her." Elsa fidgeted with Anna's sleeve, "She was _beautiful_. I always stared at her whenever I saw her, but pretended not to. It was pretty easy to avoid her, obviously, since I so rarely left my room, but she was usually the one who came when I needed someone, or took my clothing. I think I maybe talked to her twice the whole time."

"Elsa, did you have a _crush_?" Anna shifted around on the couch so she could face Elsa.

"I guess? I didn't really understand what I was feeling and honestly between her being a servant and also about ten years too old for _any_ sixteen year old, it was never going to be an option. But she made me realize that, powers and secrets aside, I could _never_ marry a man." Elsa shrugged, and reached for Anna's hands, "Besides, I was never in the right mental place for a relationship, let alone a life-long commitment. So no, I never really thought about it."

"Clearly your opinion on some of that has changed," Anna noted, enjoying the blush that crept up Elsa's cheeks and singed her eartips.

"I guess Honeymaren just had really good timing when she walked into my life with her adorable baby reindeer," Elsa admitted.

"There's something I have to know." Anna leaned forward, a wide smile on her face, "Do all my romantic notions, all those songs about fighting for love, those books and stories, do they make sense now?"

"No," Elsa deadpanned.

"Seriously?"

"Maybe a _little_."

Anna made a show of thwapping Elsa on the shoulder, "Jerk."

"Ow." Elsa thwapped her back, "I just … how do you meet someone and then they just sneakily become a part of your life and someone you can't stop thinking about? The first time I met Mare, I just knew we'd be close. I didn't know how or why, only that she'd be important to me. But I wouldn't say I fell in _love_ with her then. That came later, after we'd become friends."

"Do you know when you fell in love with her?" Anna kept her tone light, though she was honestly dying to know.

"The night we danced together," Elsa said before Anna had even finished speaking. "But that's an in hindsight kind of thing. The night I _realized_ it was a night on the boat, when she asked me to sing for her."

"That is _so_ sweet." Anna didn't need to ask Elsa to clarify the in hindsight kind of thing. She'd experienced the same thing with Kristoff; a moment she could look back on and realize that that, _that_ moment, that was _the_ moment.

And then she leaned in, and whispered, "Speaking of the dancing, you _will_ come for the Lutefisk festival this year, right?"

"Not on your _life_!"

?

"What would people say if I told them the Fifth Spirit was so goofy?" Honeymaren asked, hands planted on her hips. She tried to maintain a stern expression on her face but Elsa was just too beautiful and adorable for her to keep it up for long.

Elsa grinned sheepishly at her as she disentangled herself from a net, "I'll figure this out, Mare, I promise."

Maren laughed, heart aching just a smidge at Elsa's smile. It was still taking some getting used to, feeling like she was allowed to have these feelings for Elsa. To enjoy just watching her, for their hand holding to mean a lot more than it had before.

"Maybe you should stick to spear fishing. That one you picked up easier." She walked over to help disentangle her girlfriend. "It's getting kind of late."

"It kind of is," Elsa rolled her shoulders and then beamed at Maren with the kind of smile that Maren had come to associate with some kind of shenanigans. Don't tell anyone, but Elsa was more like her sister than anyone realized. "But not _too_ late!" She stole a kiss, then laced her fingers through with Maren's and started to pull her. "I cannot believe I almost forgot."

Elsa was moving too fast to let Maren get enough breath to ask what she'd almost forgotten, and she figured she'd find out anyway. So she just enjoyed the way Elsa's hair whipped behind her as she ran.

"I _love_ you," she whispered as the words became too much for her to hold in and Elsa glanced back at her and her lips formed the very same words.

They reached the edge of the forest and Elsa drew Maren out of it and then sat her down in the grass. She sat as well, close enough that their hips were touching, and pointed. "Look at that bright star there. Do you remember the lessons I gave you about the planets?"

"Yeah." Maren smiled, casually sliding her arm around Elsa. She'd only heard about the planets in some of the old stories and from listening to Yelana talk about the stars and the sky. For so long that was the only exposure she and Ryder had to the night sky. The _real_ night sky.

It was one of the reasons she'd always been so fascinated by the idea of the stars. "Yelana said they all had names, but we call them something different than the Arendellans do. So which one is that?"

"Venus," Elsa said, and the way she said the name sent a shiver down Maren's spine. "You don't often get a view of it this bright. Has to be the right time of year. And it's the right time of year. Oh, damn, I should have brought a telescope … Next time."

"Venus…" Maren leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder. The name was familiar from some of the books in Arendelle's library that Elsa had borrowed for her. "Isn't that some kind of goddess?"

"Mmhm. Roman goddess of love. Known as Aphrodite to the Greeks but you could probably trace her back even farther." Elsa seemed pleased to be able to share knowledge with Maren and Maren didn't really mind. "I like her Greek name better, but don't tell the Romans that."

Maren loved it when Elsa told her things about the rest of the world, or brought her those books. The world was so much bigger and so full of history than she'd ever thought possible. There was just so _much_ of it and there were nights like this where her feet felt itchy and she missed the sway of a ship beneath her feet or the sight of mountains and trees she'd never seen before.

Wistfully, Maren asked, "Do you think we could visit Rome or Athens or Cairo. Any of those places. Some day, I mean."

"And here I was trying to be romantic, what with the goddess of love and everything." Elsa smiled at her, "But I'd like to if I'm not somehow tethered to Ahtohollan."

"We traveled pretty far," Maren pointed out.

"Athens and Cairo are _much_ farther away," Elsa murmured. Her hand sought the solace of Maren's and Maren gladly took it.

"Do you want to know a secret, Elsa?"

Elsa turned to look at her, the last rays of the sun lighting her hair up with a golden halo. Her eyes shimmered like the sea and Honeymaren was hit with a sudden stabbing realization that she wanted to _marry_ this woman and spend the rest of her life at Elsa's side.

"What sort of secret?"

Maren wet her lips and needed a few seconds to remember her words. When she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle, "I don't need a goddess to show me what love is. I have _you_."

Those shimmering eyes teared up and then Elsa was pushing her down into the grass, her laughter ringing like music across the meadow.


End file.
